Learning to Take it Well
by crbmyenthusiasm
Summary: This is the sequel to OTB. Casey explains the other side of the story. Dasey!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** There aren't any flashbacks in this chapter, but they'll be present in other chapters. Stressed words and thoughts are in italics.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

OOOOOOOO

"Emily, who?" Derek asked his wife incredulously.

Derek shook his head in a vain attempt to bring himself back to rights. Casey had just dropped quite the bomb, and even though his mind was swimming he had to give it up to her: only his wife could say something so monumental in such a casual way. It was a gift, or depending on how one looked at it, a curse.

"How many Emily's do I know?"

"Um… zero." He couldn't understand the impatience in her voice, he really was quite stumped. "We _knew_ an Emily once, but you can't possibly mean—

"I sure do," she confirmed, interrupting him. "I am going to meet Emily for a coffee date. It'll be fun," she said, with more enthusiasm than she truly felt.

"No; it won't. It'll be the opposite of fun. It'll be fun's cousin- no fun. It'll be—

"God!" she cried, interrupting him. "Could you at least let me explain before you get all indignant?"

"I am _not_ being indignant! I just think that this plan of yours is completely unreasonable and quite stupid," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest huffily.

"Way to prove me wrong," she muttered sarcastically. "Jeez, you didn't even get this upset when I told you about kissing Sam."

Derek rolled his eyes. There had been no reason to get upset about that kiss; Casey had made her choice a long time ago. He knew that he had absolutely nothing to worry about where Sam was concerned. But this whole going to see Emily thing made him uneasy. In his opinion, nothing good could possibly come of it.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Look, maybe if I can get her to talk to me, I mean _really_ talk to me, we can work our way back to being friends again."

She sounded so earnest—like she really thought it was possible—that Derek laughed outright at her naivety. _Was she on crack?_

"Are you serious?" He smirked. "Would _you_ ever consider being friends with the woman who had repeatedly slept with you husband?" he questioned bluntly. Even saints weren't that forgiving.

"You were not her husband," she responded emphatically, seeming to have missed the whole point.

"Semantics," he said simply, brushing off the validity of her statement. "I might as well have been her husband. Our wedding was set to take place in less than a month; you know that I would've gone through with it if you had married Sam."

"You might not have," she insisted, but her words sounded weak even to her own ears.

"Trust me, I'd have done it, and out of pure spite too. And I would've made her miserable." There was a tiny bit of remorse in his voice, but only Casey's intimate knowledge of him made it recognizable.

"Hello? Married, not married, you made her miserable anyway. We"—she gestured between them—"made her miserable. She's just now starting to recover."

"That's all the more reason to leave her alone. Don't you think that we're probably the last two people that she wants to hang out with?"

If they had made her so miserable without even being in contact with her—and from what Casey had told him about Emily's marriage to Sam, he knew that they had—then why should they go seek her out? Derek didn't want to make things any worse.

"But she called me first?" Sure their encounter had been beyond awkward, but that didn't change the fact that Emily had called her first. That Emily had been the one to initiate contact had to count for something.

Derek sighed. "She wanted you to do her a favor. I don't think that she was extending an olive branch or an offer of friendship." He hated to sound harsh, but Casey was acting so thick; just because someone needed your help, it didn't necessarily mean that they liked you- she needed to understand that.

"Maybe not exactly, but—

"Why do you want to hang out with her anyway?" he asked, cutting in. "If you're that lonely why don't you call up one of your friends?"

She gave a harsh, mirthless laugh. "What friends?"

Derek had to resist the urge to roll his eyes again—even at her advanced age Casey was still a drama queen.

"You have friends."

"Nooo, you have friends."

Derek's popularity had waned considerably, but there was something about him-- his charm, wit, and startling good looks could still draw people to him. He may not have had a flock of buddies anymore and his harem may have disbanded, but there were still a few guys who were proud to claim him as a friend.

Casey had no such luck.

"I have coworkers who feel obligated to invite me to company outings. I have PTA mothers who treat me worse than the Harper Valley PTA treated that widow. I have obscure relatives who invite me to family functions whenever they want to seem rebellious or piss off their mothers. And now"—some of her bluster was starting to fade, and a new sadness was creeping into her voice—"I have people ushering their kids away from me like I have the plague."

"What are you talking about?" Derek's tone had softened considerably; the last thing he wanted was for her to start crying. It was hard enough seeing her cry when they were younger; now that they were married it was unbearable.

"Guess who I ran into at the grocery store the other day?

(…)

"Tinker." She answered her own question before Derek could even begin to fathom who she might have seen.

"Tinker…"

"Redhead, uptight, was obsessed with me for a good chunk of high school," she listed off things, trying to make his name ring a bell.

"Oh, _oh_. Well, what happened when you saw him?"

"I went over to him while he was looking at fruit, and said 'hi.' And that little… pipsqueak had the nerve to pretend that he didn't know who I was!"

Sometimes when Casey was mad it took everything in Derek to stop himself from laughing at the angry faces she made. This was definitely one of those times.

"Not all of us have the memory of an elephant, Case."

"Nothing about me resembles an elephant. And, besides, isn't that fish?"

"You eat fish for a better memory; elephants have a good memory."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm married to one." He really couldn't help it; she had set herself up for that one.

It would have been so easy to get sucked into a silly argument, but Casey refused to be sidetracked.

"I was _trying_ to tell you about being offended."

"Well, by all means, continue." He wasn't really trying to be an ass; he just wanted to take her mind off of whatever was bothering her. "But, really, high school was like forever ago. Maybe he just didn't remember you."

"You don't follow someone around like a lovesick puppy for three years, begging for a pat on the head or a few kind words, and then forget they exist. He knew exactly who I was," she said, resolutely. "That's why he hustled his kids out of there so quick."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?" Was her husband really that dense, or did he just want to hear her say the words? "Nobody wants their children around the woman who married her brother; I might confuse them, or worse- corrupt them." She swiped at her betraying eyes, wishing she had more control over her emotions.

All traces of humor were instantly wiped from Derek's face. With his newly flushed skin and clenched fists, he looked ready to kill.

"What exactly did he say to you?"

"Nothing; they hardly ever say anything to my face these days. But it was all there in his eyes—it's in everybody's eyes. You don't get it so bad"—her tone conveyed just how unfair she thought that was—"and maybe that's because people always liked you. But I was never popular."

"Casey—

"At least in high school I could think that people only disliked me for shallow, unimportant reasons. I could blame them. But now, now there is nobody to blame but myself. People think of me as some incestuous bitch- and really, are they wrong?"

"Yes!" he yelled adamantly. "They—

"No; they aren't. Think about it: I cheated on the sweetest guy in the world with my best friend's boyfriend. If that's not bitchy, what is?"

"Okay," he conceded. She did have a bit of a point. "But, that doesn't—

Casey was not about to be argued with. "And, okay, we don't share any blood, but I think of Edwin as my brother, so…I mean"—she shrugged her shoulders—"we're not exactly Cathy and Chris, but we are related."

"So, what, you think that if Emily is your friend again people will stop treating you like an 'incestuous bitch?'" he asked, finally getting to finish a thought.

"No. I think that if we're friends again, then maybe I'll stop feeling like an incestuous bitch." She ran a shaky hand through her hair. "I mean, I wake up some days, and I feel, well, bad." It was really as simple as that.

She stared at him searchingly. "Doesn't your conscious ever eat at you?"

Derek frowned. For years they had avoided digging too deep into their past, specifically the way they had left things with Sam and Emily, but Casey still should've known that, of course, his conscious ate at him. He had done all kinds of dirt- things that even Casey didn't know about. Emily hadn't been his true love—not even close—but she had been special to him. She had made him feel… well, it didn't matter; it wasn't like he could change any of it anyway.

"Nothing you do can change the past," he said, voicing his opinions.

"I know," she sighed, "but maybe I can make things better." She glanced at her watch then and was surprised to see how late it was. "Look, I've got to go. And, I am going," she declared, responding t the narrow eyed look he was sending her. "But, we can talk about this later." She blew him a kiss and turned to leave, but the sound of him clearing his throat stopped her.

"Yes?" She sounded extremely annoyed.

"I'm just curious- what in the world are the two of you going to talk about?"

She shrugged carelessly. "I don't know, and I don't really care. As long as I can hold her attention I'll be happy," she said honestly.

When Casey left, Derek was far from being reassured by her last words. All he could do now was hope that Emily had enough sense to stay away.

OOOOOOOO

Emily slid into the seat across from Casey without offering up any kind of greeting and instead just stared at her foe expectantly.

Despite being a little unnerved by Emily's behavior, Casey decided to stick to her plan.

"I'm glad you came," she said cheerily.

"Yeah, well, I almost didn't."

Ouch.

Casey cleared her throat as if the simple act would clear away the tension in the air too.

"Umm… I was glad to hear that you and Sam are doing better." She looked directly at Emily then, hoping that her words might have brought a smile to her old friend's face, but as soon as she did she immediately knew that had been the wrong thing to say.

"How did you know that?" Emily asked accusingly.

"I spoke to Sam—

"What?"

"He called me the other day, and—

"Wait- what?!"

"He-wanted-to-thank-me-for-my-part-in-everything," she explained, rushing her words together quickly in hopes of getting everything out before Emily interrupted her again.

"This is just rich." A bitter laugh bubbled up from her throat. "I knew that's why you called me."

Casey's eyebrows rose in confusion, but Emily just rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, I am grateful for what you did, but if you think I'm going to kiss your ass or something—

"Emily," Casey said frantically, cutting in, "I swear that is not why I wanted you to come today. What I did for you that day doesn't even begin to make us square; I still owe you so much."

"You got that right," Emily mumbled.

Casey decided to pretend that she hadn't heard Emily. "I called you, cause… I, well, um…I thought maybe we could just hang out."

This time Emily's laugh was genuine. "Oh, okay." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Let me just go get my comb so we can braid each other's hair, then maybe we can play truth or dare."

"You didn't used to be so cynical," Casey said, her own anger beginning to seep into her voice.

"Yeah, well, you weren't always a slut," she shot back. Giving her a speculative look, Emily said, "or maybe you were- hell, who knows?"

Casey's first instinct was to defend herself, but the latter part of Emily's statement had her reconsidering. Emily's words had given her an idea.

"Maybe if we just talk to each other—

Emily's head was shaking before Casey could even finish her thought.

"Any talking we do will just end in an argument. You still push my buttons," she said honestly. "And, besides, there is nothing you could say that I would possibly be interested in hearing."

She had meant to deflate Casey's enthusiasm with her harsh words, but, if anything, Casey seemed to have perked up more.

"You're wrong," Casey said simply.

"Oh, really?"

Casey nodded. "There is one thing I can tell you that I'm sure you've always wanted to know."

"What?" she asked, taking the bait against her better judgment?

"I'll tell you about me and Derek."

"What's to know? You two lied, cheated, and now you're married. Big whoop." 

"But don't you want to know everything?" Her tone was a little more desperate than she was comfortable with, but she was starting to get a little scared; Casey had been sure that Emily would be more receptive to the idea. "How it started? What really happened?"

"No. Why would I want to open old wounds?"

Casey refrained from stating her opinion that those wounds were anything but old, and instead said, "Aren't you curious? Haven't you ever wondered?"

"Have I ever wondered how my best friend could so royally screw me over? Sure. But that doesn't mean—

"Yes. You. Do." Casey responded before Emily could even voice her denial.

Emily wanted to instantly shoot her down, but nothing would come out of her mouth. Casey was right: Emily wondered about it everyday. She wondered how a world that had seemed so perfect could be turned upside down so quickly. But was her curiosity enough to keep her in the presence of Casey? And, besides, she and Sam were finally doing okay. Why delve into the past now?

Because, damnit, she wanted to know.

"Come on, Emily," Casey continued to push, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, and all it'll cost you is a cup of coffee."

Emily was positive that it was probably going to cost her way more than that. She felt like she was making a deal with the devil, but the opportunity to know the whole truth about what had happened all those years ago was too tempting to pass up.

"Fine," she bit out. "I hate you,"—Casey flinched at the harshness of her tone—"but I'll stay."

**TBC…**

**A/N:** I realize that this may have been a bit odd, but I wrote it a certain way on purpose so that I could set up the story. Let me know how you think this story is shaping up. I used a total Dasey cliché in this (the FITA reference) but I always wanted to use it.

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Flashbacks are in italics, and during flashbacks thoughts and stressed words are in a normal font. When the font is normal, thoughts and stressed words are in italics.

This chapter came out a little weird. But it's okay. I think. Maybe.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

"So," Emily said, suddenly breaking the silence that had engulfed them for the past five minutes, "before you start waxing about just how big of a backstabber you were—_are_—I have to know one thing…"

Casey let the "backstabber" remark roll off her shoulders, and looked at Emily expectantly.

"… The fighting wasn't all part of the lie, right? I mean, you and Derek didn't like each other at first," she elaborated, looking at Casey for confirmation.

When Casey just stared back, Emily sighed and continued.

"Derek and I didn't speak much back then." That was an understatement. They didn't speak at all unless he needed something from her. "But there was one night I found him swimming in my pool, and he looked so, for lack of a better word, angry, that I asked him what was wrong. He didn't really answer me, he just mumbled something about having met his future stepsisters and how uncomfortable it was going to be living with them, especially the older one."

Emily had been looking at Casey the entire time she spoke, and with every word she had said Casey's eyes became a little more glazed. It was like she was drifting off into her own little world.

"Hello?" Emily snapped, annoyed. After all, _this_ had been Casey's idea. "I guess what I'm asking is," she began, once she knew she had Casey's attention again, "when you two first met after your parent's got engaged, were…"

Emily kept talking, but Casey had tuned her out. Since she had sworn to be completely candid with Emily while recounting her past with Derek, Casey supposed that she had better stop her right here. But she was worried. If Casey told her the truth about what happened the first time she met Derek, it could make things worse. _Way_ worse.

Noticing the torn look upon Casey's face, Emily stopped speaking and scowled. It was easy to see that Casey was weighing her options about something, trying to think of how best to handle her.

"If you lie," she said, breaking into Casey's thoughts, "I _will_ know. I may not have been able to tell in the past," she admitted, sounding almost ashamed at how trusting she once was, "but I will know now. So I suggest that you choose your next words carefully."

Casey couldn't help but wonder when Emily had gotten to be so scary. If her former friend had been trying to intimidate her, it worked.

"I'll tell you the truth," she responded, squaring her shoulders, "but you're not going to like it."

Emily brows rose faintly, but she hadn't changed her mind. _Really, when was the last time she had liked anything that Casey had done? _

Casey blew out an irritated breath. "Fine! You want the truth? Well, the truth is, I didn't meet Derek for the first time the night our parents decided to finally introduce us."

Emily's jaw dropped open a bit. _This_, she had not been expecting.

"I had met him like three weeks prior to that."

Emily's mind was reeling, but she managed to ask, "Where?"

"At the mall."

"And what, it was love at first sight?"

"Not exactly…"

_Casey tapped her foot against the white and black speckled tile impatiently. Maybe Kiera needed to see a doctor or something- Casey had never met anyone who had to go to the bathroom as much as her best friend did._ Weren't three trips in two hours a little excessive? _It wasn't like the girl had been drinking tea or anything, but here Casey was, parked outside of a hallway that led to a mall restroom, again. Honestly, Casey could've used a trip to the little girl's room herself, but she couldn't bring herself to employ a public toilet. She was aware that they were cleaned regularly, but the only way she was going to willingly use a public toilet was if it was an absolute emergency. Her bladder was made of stern stuff; she knew she could make it until she was in the comfort of her own bathroom. _

_Glancing at her watch, she didn't notice the boy who was lazily making his way towards her, at first. When she did become aware of him, she swept the surrounding area with her eyes. He seemed to be heading for her, but she hoped to God he wasn't. The guy was hot, and she, well, she was in her school uniform._ How dorky was that?

_If she had any luck at all he would go talk to anyone but her._

"'_Sup?" he asked, smirking._

_Apparently she needed a new rabbit's foot._

"_H-h-hi," she replied, nervously, wondering why his presence was making her so uneasy. She was fairly popular at her all girls school and she was used to the guys from her brother school, The Lighthouse Academy, flirting with her, but there was something different about this guy. Maybe it was the 'I don't give a damn' aura around him. Well, whatever it was, he set her on edge. He made her a little nervous. _

"_I'm Derek." He said his name cockily, like she should recognize it or something. _

"_It's nice to meet you." Her tone was cordial, formal. _

_He stared at her expectantly, and she met his gaze unflinchingly, wondering just what he wanted her to say. _

_He seemed to be trying his best not to smile. "Umm… aren't you going to introduce yourself?"_

_Casey turned five shades of red._ Duh! _She wanted to smack herself; he probably thought she was totally rude … or slow. _

"_I'm Casey."_

"_Well, Casey, are you here with someone?"_

"_Just the world's smallest bladder," she said, without thinking. When she saw the half-disgusted/half-amused expression on his face, she hastened to explain, "That is so not her name. Her name's Kiera, not bladder. And I'm positive that her bladder's a normal size." He laughed outright, and suddenly the tile became very interesting to her. "I haven't seen her bladder," she added quickly. "I've never even seen my own bladder. Is that even possible?" She knew she was rambling now, but it was like she couldn't seem to stop herself. "What I mean is… _

_But when she glanced up at his face to see how much damage her incessant talking was doing, she stopped speaking just as suddenly as she had started. He wasn't listening anymore. In fact, he seemed to be glancing back at—she followed his gaze—two other boys who looked to be about his age, who were standing at the other end of the hallway. One of the boys held up five fingers and then pointed at his watch, next he pointed at … Derek? No. Her- yeah, they were definitely signaling at her._

_Derek turned around suddenly, and for the life of her, Casey couldn't call the look on his face. He looked guilty, like she had caught him doing something bad red-handed._ But what?

"_So, Casey, is there any chance—_

"_Yo, Derek, time's up," the shorter of the two other boys yelled, cutting him off. _

"'_Time's up' for what?" she asked curiously._

"_It doesn't matter; I want your number anyway." As soon as he said it, Derek looked like he wanted to bang his head against the wall. _

Why does he look like that? Wait- oh. _"Oh," she exclaimed, as it finally hit her, "What did you guys have some kind of bet to see if you could get my number?"_

"_Yeah, something like that," he said, honestly. _

"_So you and your friends come to the mall to see how many girls you can sucker into dating you? How lame is that?" she scoffed. Honestly, Casey knew that about ninety percent of kids her age came to the mall for reasons very similar to that, but she wanted Derek to feel as stupid as he'd inadvertently made her feel. _

"_Correction: I don't have to sucker_ anyone. _Girls come to_ me, _willingly, eagerly," he said, voice ringing with arrogance. "This"—he gestured between himself and her—"was just us having some fun trying to see if I could break my record of how long it takes me to get a number." _

"_I wasn't going to give you my number when I didn't know." She was lying, and she had a feeling that they both knew it. "And I wouldn't give you my number now, even if you were the last guy on earth." When he sent her an openly disbelieving look, she scowled and added,_ "Please_, you're not even my type."_

_He made a sweeping gesture with his hands; apparently, he thought her words were ridiculous. "Humph, I'm_ every_ girl's type."_

"_Not mine," she said simply. "I mean, really, have you even seen yourself?" Her question sounded completely bitchy to her own ears, but she just didn't care. If he was going to be an ass, then she could certainly be a bitch. "You're walking around in a leather jacket on one of the hottest days of the year, and probably just because you think it makes you look like you stepped off the set of The Wild One. Who am I kidding?" She rolled her eyes. "You probably don't even know what I'm talking about." His eyes narrowed at the obvious insult to his intelligence, but she didn't stop there. "And, I don't know what idiot told you that smirking like that was cute, but it makes you look like a stroke victim." _

"_Are you done?" he asked, jaws clenched_

"_Not quite. Don't you want to know what the worst thing about yourself is?"_

_She took his lack of response as a sign to continue._

"_The worst thing is that you must really think the entire world is comprised of idiots. Cause if you expect people to buy into that whole "bad boy" image you're trying so desperately to sell, you must think everyone is retarded."_

"_I'm not trying to sell anything," he spat, indignantly._

"_Come on, I had you pegged from the moment I saw you sauntering over here. You want me to believe that you're some kind of rebel or something, but it is more than obvious that you're just a poseur." She wasn't really lying: she_ did _have him pegged from the moment she saw him; it was obvious that he wanted people to think he was some modern day James Dean. But, what she didn't tell him was that she had thought the leather jacket and half scowl/half smile he had worn as he approached her had been beyond hot. _

"_Aww, what's wrong, tough guy?" she asked, in a sing-song voice. "Are you upset that you finally met a girl who was smart enough to put two and two together and realize that your_ mommy _probably buys those tuff guy clothes?" She gave a very unladylike snort. "You've probably never even done an actual cool thing in your life!" _

_She smiled triumphantly. Maybe next time he would think twice about making a game out of some unsuspecting girl. _

_Casey turned to go—Kiera could find her later—her work there was done. _

_Derek had other ideas. Grabbing her arm, he spun her around and held her in place._

"_Let me go." There was the slightest note of worry in her tone._ Maybe I went too far?

"_Not until I have my turn, princess," he said, smirking._

_Casey's brow cocked angrily. 'Princess' was her father's nickname for her; she didn't like hearing the word used in such an obviously insulting manner._

"_You can make all the snide comments you want, I never claimed that I was a genius, but I'm not an idiot either." He wasn't in denial; Derek knew that he would never be a straight 'A' student. "And as for my 'mommy' buying my clothes, you're so far off the mark it's laughable." He gave a short bark of laughter, but it was mirthless, and Casey couldn't help but wonder why. "And if people view me as some type of rebel, well, that's their problem, not mine- I never said I was one."_

_She snorted again._ Who was he kidding? That's obviously what he wanted people to think of him.

"_But even if everything you said about me was entirely true, it still wouldn't make me worse than you."_

_Casey drew in her breath sharply, clearly affronted. "Excuse me? You don't know anything about me."_

_He frowned in mock confusion. "But the five minutes we've known each other apparently made you an authority on me, so it must be an adequate amount of time to qualify me as an expert on you." _

_Her eyes rolled automatically, but she refused to respond. That would just make him think she gave a damn about what he thought of her._

_Oddly enough, she actually did._

"_You, Casey, are a liar."_

"_I'll have you know,_ _I_ never _lie," she said, with conviction._

"_Sure you do," he said, simply. "You probably lie to everyone on a daily basis," he said, ambiguously, and she wondered what exactly he meant by that. "But, mostly, you lie to yourself."_

"_Oh, really. And just what is it I'm lying about?" She tried to sound sarcastic, but part of her really wanted to hear what he had to say._ Was she that transparent? Was some big secret written all over her face for every stranger to see?

_Derek looked into her eyes as he answered, "Well, right now, you're lying about wanting me." There wasn't any smugness in his voice, he simply sounded like that's what he really believed._

"_What?" She exclaimed, taken aback_. _"_God_, you're conceited."_

"_I may be," he admitted, "but that doesn't change the fact that I am right. You insulted the hell out of me, made a speech about what's wrong with me, and emphatically insisted that I'm not you're type, but it's all there in your eyes: you want me."_

"_You're delusional," she snapped. _

_He ignored her. "To everyone around you, I'm probably not your type. But you and I both know differently, don't we? And we both know why you're so pissed."_

"_Because you're an ass?" she guessed._

"_You're mad, because when you saw 'my type' walking in your direction, you_ wanted _me to hit on you. You like my type."_

_Casey just wanted this conversation to end._ Where the hell was Kiera?

"_Look, I told you—_

"_I know what you said," he cut in, "but we both know you would've given me your number if you hadn't learned of the game."_

How did he know that? _She wasn't even trying to struggle out of his grip anymore. Now she just really wanted to hear what he had to say._

"_What makes you say that?"_

"_It's all in your eyes," he repeated. "When I came over here, do you know what I saw in your eyes? Lust," he said, answering his own question. _

_She didn't say anything, but her tongue involuntarily darted out of her mouth and licked her lips. _

"_The way you babbled, the way you wouldn't make eye contact, chewing on your lip—you were nervous. And you were nervous because you wanted me to like you."_

_Casey was shook up, but she couldn't let him see it. He had already seen too much. "That's neither here nor there." She shrugged. "Even if I did like you before, I_ don't _now. I don't want anything to do with you anymore." Her voice was stony and cold, but her words seem to have the opposite of her desired affect on Derek. In fact, the boy seemed to light up._

"_I was wrong…"_

"_Thank-you," she responded, though she was thoroughly confused._

"That's _why you're so pissed, you're mad that you_ still _want me. You may not like me," he conceded, "but you want me anyway, and you hate that you feel that way." _

_She gasped, her free hand flying to cover her mouth, and she just stared at him._

"_Your eyes, Casey," he said, by way of explanation. "You should really do something about that."_

_The joking lilt in his voice when he delivered his latter statement was too much for Casey. _

_She slapped him. _

"_You are so off base."_

"_Oh, look," he said, tightening his hold on her arm, "your pants are on fire." _

"_Why you—_

_But she was interrupted by his two friends approaching. The boy who had been keeping time looked amused, but the other boy looked nervous as hell- like he thought Derek and Casey were about to start punching it out or something. _

"_We should go, Derek," the nervous one said._

_Derek released her arm, but he couldn't help but say, "So, can I call you sometime?" he asked, laughing._

"_Fuck you!" she snapped, before slamming her high heeled clad foot down on his foot, and marching away._

_But she heard him mumble, "Anytime," to his friends. _

_Casey made it about two stores down the hallway, when she literally bumped into Kiera, who was exiting a boutique. _

"_Where the hell were you?" she snapped, voice practically shaking with fury._

"_Chill, Case. When I came out of the restroom I saw you talking to some guy, so I decided to give you some space."_

"Thanks," _she said, sarcastically, wondering how in the world Kiera had left the restroom without her noticing it. _

"_Dude was hot!" She was gushing, but Casey remained silent. "Well, don't keep me in suspense; did you give him your number? Are you going to see him again?"_

_Casey shuddered. _"God, _I hope not. If I ever see him again, I'll probably kill him."_ 'Or fall in love with him,' she added, silently, without even thinking.

_The thought made her ashamed, but she couldn't help it. Maybe she did have him pegged, maybe not, but he had her pegged too._

"It wasn't love at first sight…"

Casey sighed in relief; maybe telling Emily had helped her case, not hurt it.

"…But it was something," Emily finished. This made Derek's words to her that night when they were by her pool make a little more sense.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and Emily gave a genuine laugh. "I bet that dinner where George and Nora 'introduced' you two to each other was interesting."

Casey didn't join in Emily's laughter, but she was definitely glad to hear it. Emily hadn't stalked off yet, and she seemed to want to hear more, so things were going as well as could be expected.

"'Interesting,' is one way to put it."

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N:** I am aware that Casey and Derek probably both seemed OOC in this, but it went with the plot. And, besides, it's a fanfic, so the characters are gonna be OOC no matter what.

Let me know what you thought.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Flashbacks and stressed words are in italics. This chapter contains a flashback within a flashback, but it should be pretty easy to pick out.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.

**This is dedicated to Amanda. I get a kick out of your reviews and since I can't reply because they're unsigned I figured I'd just send you a shout out. **

OOOOOOOO

Emily took a long sip of her iced tea and couldn't help but giggle as she pictured the looks of horror Casey and Derek must've been wearing when they realized that they were about to become related. "So just how awful was it?" she asked, grinning.

Casey couldn't tell if Emily's grin was really evil, or if she was just imagining it. But she shrugged off Emily's joy in the face of her misery, and silently reminded herself that Emily deserved this. If laughing at her misfortune put Emily in a better mood, then it was worth it. Besides, evil, or not, it was nice to see Emily smiling and laughing.

"It was pretty awful," Casey admitted. "Actually, the whole night was doomed from the beginning, Derek showing up was just the icing on the cake."

"What do you mean?" Emily was slightly confused. In the past when Casey had always spoken of her dislike for her stepfamily her anger was typically directed towards Derek. With him out of the equation, Emily wasn't quite sure why 'the whole night was doomed from the beginning.'

Casey thought a moment before replying. "Well, my mom kind of just sprung the whole engagement/marriage thing on Lizzie and me. Sure, we had met George a couple of times, and he seemed nice enough, but I wasn't in the market for a new _daddy_ and neither was Lizzie."

"So, what, the two of you were going to try to break them up at this dinner?"

"No; nothing like that. I just wasn't in a very good mood," she was choosing her words carefully, "and when I'm in a bad mood, I have no problem letting people know."

"So you were just being a bitch?" Emily asked, frankly. She wasn't tying to be mean or hostile by asking such a thing, she just figured that was how Casey must've been acting. Back when they had been cool it wasn't uncommon for 'bitch Casey' to make an appearance when she wasn't getting her way.

"Well…

"_I thought you said this guy was a lawyer?" _

"_He is," Nora answered, anxiously. She had a feeling that she was being set up for something._

_Taking a look around the semi-clean, kid friendly, buffet style restaurant, Casey gave a more than obvious shudder and turned up her nose. "Hmm… at least we know he's frugal," she murmured, with disdain._

_Lizzie gave a short giggle, before she clamped her mouth shut, remembering that she was too upset to giggle. Casey had told her that the only emotions she should express during dinner were anger and sadness, and if she could somehow manage to look cute while she was conveying those emotions, Casey had promised to take her to the movies the next day. _

_Nora closed her eyes and Casey got the feeling that she was counting to ten before she responded. "Like I told you, Casey, George's kids have very big appetites; they love coming to this place. And, besides, isn't this more fun than eating at some stuffy, formal restaurant. At a place like this we can all have fun and be comfortable." _

"_Oh, since George's kids like to eat like pigs we all have to suffer?" she asked, ignoring the latter part of Nora's statement completely._

_Nora sighed, choosing not to comment._

_Casey glanced at her watch and gave an obnoxiously loud sigh of her own. "Where is he anyway? They were supposed to be here like fifteen minutes ago."_

_As if on cue, the hostess walked over to their table with George and two children in tow. The little boy looked to be about Lizzie's age, and he seemed harmless enough, and the little girl, well, the girl was wearing a pink tutu over her jeans and one of those caps that Snoopy wore when he was pretending to be a World War Two flying ace, on her head. _

"_Sorry we took so long," George apologized, as they sat, "but Marti had a hard time deciding what she wanted to wear," he said, bestowing an indulgent smile upon his youngest child._

"_Isn't that precious?" Nora cooed, making Casey gag._

"_That's one word for it," Casey mumbled, but loud enough for everyone to hear. _

_George's smile became tight, but he didn't loose it. "Edwin, Marti, I want you to meet your future sisters, Casey," he said, pointing to the bored looking teenager, "and Lizzie," he added, gesturing to her. _

"_Well, howdy," Casey said, rolling her eyes. _

_For her part, Lizzie just stared at them, wearing an owlish look. _

_Edwin looked to Nora, something akin to awe on his face. "She's mute, cool." _

_Lizzie's head snapped up from the water glass she had been inspecting so thoroughly and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. Facing George and mimicking the look Edwin had just given her mother, she said, "He's stupid, cool."_

"_Edwin!"_

"_Lizzie!"_

_When they realized they had spoken simultaneously, George and Nora both smiled and started looking all googly-eyed. It was enough to make all the children at the table nauseous._

"_I though there was another one," Casey said, breaking up their starry-eyed exchange. _

"_Oh, he's just parking the car," George explained, absentmindedly._

_Casey's brow creased. "He has a license?" she asked, perplexed. From what she knew of him, he was in her same year of school. _

"_Nope," Edwin answered._

"_A learner's permit?"_

"_Smerek doesn't have any of that stuff yet," Marti explained, looking at Casey as if she were an idiot. _

He has a kid named Smerek? What kind of family is she marrying into?

"_But daddy has to let him practice—how else is he going to make it to Carnegie Hall?" _

_Casey played with her straw, moving the ice around in her glass of water. "Generous, punctual, and responsible—well, mom, you sure picked a real winner."_

"_Casey," Nora hissed, through clinched teeth, "what on earth has gotten into you? You are acting like a total brat."_

_Casey removed the cheap looking napkin that had been residing on her lap, balled it up, and threw it on the table. "You want to know what's gotten into me? You really want to know?" she screeched. She had tried to be nice, tried to be good, responsible, take everything in stride Casey, about all this, when she first found out. But she just couldn't do it. And, if her mother really wanted to know what had "gotten into" her, then, by God, she would tell her._

_But in never came to be._

_The table was spared Casey's diatribe by a new arrival. _

"_Well, it's nice to see that I'm not too late to join in the fighting," a male voice said, sounding half-serious half-joking._

_Casey couldn't see the man, but she could feel his presence, he was standing behind her. Hearing him—and she had the feeling that he was laughing at her—but being unable to see him was doing nothing to better her mood. _

"_Did you park the car in Siberia?" George asked, annoyed. "Come sit down. Nora's children are probably starving."_

"Okay, _dad, that's why everyone is looking so upset and why she was about to pitch a bitch- they're all just hungry," he said, sarcastically, before marching around the table._

"_Language," Marti admonished him._

"_Sorry, Smarti," he apologized, plopping down in to the seat next to her. _

_Casey's poor napkin was being abused as she smashed and twisted it around in her hands, trying to get out some of her pent up rage. _

Was he calling me a bitch? And what kind of kid swears in front of his parent like that?

_Aside from the possible insult, and thoughtless tardiness, she was even more annoyed that she couldn't place his voice. He sounded eerily familiar to her, she just couldn't figure out why. It didn't really mater either way, whether she knew him or not, nobody talked to Casey Macdonald that way. _

_Looking up from her lap, death glare in place, she was all set to give him a proper set down, until, that is, she got a good look at his face._

"_Oh my God!" Her recognition of him was instant; she would never be able to forget the face of the boy who had boldly called her out; the boy who had read her like a book. _

_Her cry of surprise had caused him to turn his attention away from his sister. As soon as he looked at her his mouth dropped open and he began blinking repeatedly. She saw the same recognition she felt, reflected in his eyes. It was more than obvious that he remembered her._

_They just stared at each other, blocking out the noise coming from the tables surrounding them, their families, everything. And as Casey lost herself in his all too familiar eyes, she couldn't help recalling everything he had said: _

"When I came over here, do you know what I saw in your eyes? Lust."

"…you were nervous because you wanted me to like you."

"You may not like me, but you want me anyway, and you hate that you feel that way."

_Casey shook her head, trying to break away from her thoughts and his entrancing stare. He had been right. She had wanted him, and she had wanted him even though she really couldn't stand him. And, now, the boy who had seen "lust" in her eyes, the guy who had looked at her with that same lust burning bright in his own eyes, was about to be her stepbrother. This was too much for Casey to bear. _

'Oh my Lord,' _she thought_, 'I've had impure thoughts about a boy who is practically related to me? Have I damned my self unintentionally? What if I'm unable to banish these thoughts from my mind?'_ There were so many questions running through her head, making her crazy. And she didn't have the answers to any of them._

"_I-gotta-take-a-leak," Derek rushed out, before fleeing the scene._

_It was crude. It was cowardly. And, it was genius. Casey wished she had thought of it first. Escape; it wouldn't solve anything, but it would make her feel a whole lot better. _

_Throwing her napkin on the table for the second time, Casey shot out of her chair, almost knocking it over in the process. Grimacing at her mother, she mumbled, "me too," before darting off in the direction Derek had just taken._

_Once Casey was inside the women's restroom and had established that she was alone, she braced her hands against the sink and broke down and cried. She wasn't even sure why she was shedding tears over this, but she had the horrible feeling that it was because now she knew she could never have Derek. Now, not only could she not have him, but she couldn't even want him anymore. _

_She felt like she had just lost a prize, and she couldn't fathom why. Even if Derek had been hers, which he wasn't, he was still no prize. During their first encounter he had proven himself to be a shallow, skirt chasing, smug, ass. She really had not liked him. But she had wanted him, and they both knew it. _

_Casey had to do something. She had to face him; she couldn't hide in the bathroom forever._

_Casey wiped her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror._ 'What am I so worried about,' _she began, reasoning with herself_, 'it's not like we actually did anything.' _She was greatly comforted by that thought._ 'And, okay, we wanted each other, but we also couldn't stand one another- the hate outweighed the lust, I think.'

_She was starting to feel a lot better, latching onto the genuine dislike she had felt for him was helping a great deal. And remembering all the hateful words they had exchanged was a good way to lessen her attraction to him. _

_Giving her eyes one last good swipe, she decided to leave the restroom. She had to find him and talk to him, immediately. If they waited, this… thing between them would just grow into a bigger, more awkward situation. _

_When she pushed open the door to the men's restroom she sent up a silent prayer that one: Derek would still be in there, and, two: he would be the only guy in there. _

_God was in a charitable mood; she lucked out on both accounts. _

_As he turned and looked at the newcomer, no shock registered on his face. Casey was surprised to see that all of the unease that had radiated off of him at the table was gone. He was wearing a smirk and his eyes were twinkling. Casey envied that part of him; she wished she could shift her mood as quickly as he could obviously shift his. Even though she did feel a lot better, she was positive that she was far from looking as nonchalant as he did. _

"_A public restroom? Why, princess, I had no idea you were so adventurous," he said, in mock astonishment. He started unbuttoning his shirt. "But I'm game if you are."_

_She sputtered indignantly. "How dare you?"_

_He started laughing and the fingers that were working on his buttons ceased moving. "Jeez, you're easy. I was just trying to loosen you up; you looked about ready to faint when you walked in here."_

"_Well, you 'looked about ready to faint' before you ran away from the table," she shot back. _

_He stopped smiling. "The Derek does not faint."_

_Casey's eyes rolled. "Tell me you don't call yourself that. That is so weird."_

"_You're standing in the middle of the men's restroom," he gestured to the urinals, "and, yet, _I'm_ the weird one, _right_."_

"_Hey, I only came in here to see if I was going to need to go fetch some smelling salts."_

_Derek shook his head and shrugged. "I'm sorry, I don't understand _nerd._" _

"_Nerd or English?" _

"_Neither," he replied. "It's actually _bitch_ I don't speak." Apparently her superior tone had started to get the better of him. _

"_What was that?" she asked, cupping her hand around her ear and leaning forward. "I never was fluent in _ass_." _

_They just glared at each other a moment before cracking up. _

"_How weirded out do you think our parents are?" Derek asked, once he'd regained his composure._

"_We did kinda just fly out of there."_

"_Yeah," he agreed._

"_About that, I think we should talk—_

"_You hair looks stupid," he said, cutting her off._

"_Excuse me?"_

"_I mean, really, what's up with those two pieces in the front?" He said, before reaching for one of the strands and pulling it._

_Her hands were on her hips now. "I know that you're trying to distract me, but it won't—_

"_And that half in the back," he was still pointing at her elaborate hairstyle, "why is it like that?"_

"_I'm not gonna get sucked into an argument with—_

"_Are you a transvestite, because I saw this episode of Jerry Springer once—_

"_Urgh," she growled, punching his shoulder. "I'll have you know, this hairstyle is very popular right now. All the girls are wearing it."_

_Derek cocked an eyebrow. "All the 'girls,' or all the hoes?"_

_She sucked in a breath, clearly pissed. "Are you calling me a hoe?"_

"_Well, if the clear-heels fit," he trailed off, shrugging._

"We went on like that, arguing back and forth until someone came into the restroom, and then we just moved the argument back to the table."

"So you two never discussed the mall encounter?"

Casey shrugged, sighing. "I wanted to at first, but, really, what would've been the point? We just would have made ourselves feel even more uncomfortable than we already did; no good could have come of it."

Emily begged to differ. Maybe if the two of them had talked it out right there at that dinner, perhaps they might have decided to be together then, and none of this nonsense would've happened. A lot of feelings could've been spared if they had not denied _their_ feelings to begin with.

"So, to answer your question," Casey said, breaking into Emily's thoughts, "all of the fighting wasn't a lie. Whatever attraction that may have existed between us was accompanied by a mutual dislike for each other. The fighting came naturally; we annoyed each other. And when our parents did get married and we were forced to live together, we found out even more things about each other that annoyed us."

Noticing Emily's frown, Casey pulled one of her own.

"What's wrong? I answered your question."

"Yeah, technically, I guess you did."

"Technically?" Casey echoed.

Emily waited a moment before answering, carefully forming her response. "I guess now that I know all this, I wish I had phrased my question differently."

Casey sighed, again. This didn't bode well. "How would you have phrased it?"

Emily decided to just blurt out her question, before she could think better of her decision and change her mind. "Was there ever a time when you two were fighting and you were not attracted to each other?"

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N:** Let me know what you thought.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Stressed words and thoughts are in italics. During flashbacks stressed words and thoughts are in a normal font.

**IMPORTANT: **I took some serious license with this chapter. "Don't Take A Tip From Me" is mentioned in this chapter, but even though I'm pretty sure that the episode takes place while Derek and Casey are sophomores, I'm having it take place during the beginning of their junior year. I had to change things a little to fit the fic's timeline. So, just use your imagination (more than you already are, lol).

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

Casey kept replaying Emily's words over, and over, again in her mind. Is that really what her one time best friend thought of her now? That she was so manipulative and scheming that she could have been lying about her feelings for Derek since she and Emily had met. Casey didn't view her past behavior through rose colored glasses—she knew her actions had been reprehensible, but, really, Emily had it all wrong. Casey had been telling the truth when she said it wasn't all a lie; there was a period when she had truly loathed Derek and had been nowhere near being attracted to him. Her dislike for Derek had been just as strong and genuine as her attraction to Sam back then.

"Emily, at the time I met you, I _really_ didn't like Derek."

Emily pursed her lips at Casey's choice of words. "That's not what I asked you, and you know it." Her annoyance was clear. "But if you're not going to answer my questions I can just leave."

Casey shook her head and looked at her with pleading eyes. "No, you don't understand. I didn't like him, _and_ I didn't like _like_ him either."

This time Emily's lips were pursed because she was trying to suppress a grin; she couldn't remember the last time she had heard that phrase. "So why didn't you 'like like' him?" she asked, mockingly.

"You're kidding, right? You saw how he acted when I moved in. Everything I had found remotely attractive about him during our first meeting was suddenly gone. I mean, he had been an ass before, but once we started living together it was like he was constantly trying to out ass himself."

Emily shook her head. "I'm just not buying it." She was not going to just eat up whatever Casey fed her; she wanted proof.

"What-why?"

Emily had to strain herself to keep from rolling her eyes at the confused look Casey was sporting. She didn't believe one word of what she hearing and, frankly, she was a little insulted that Casey seemed to believe that she was still that gullible.

"You just admitted that when you met Derek at the mall you wanted him despite your negative opinion of his personality. And, now," she began, incredulously, "you honestly expect me to believe that—

"I don't expect you to believe anything but the truth, damnit!" she said, vehemently, slamming her fists on the table. The few patrons that were left in the diner turned their attention towards Casey's and Emily's table, but Casey didn't seem to notice. "I get where you're coming from," she continued, voice slightly lower, "believe me, I get it. You hate me, you hate Derek, and you hate what we did to you." Emily was too stunned by Casey's outburst to respond, so she let her go on. "But try to understand where _I'm_ coming from. Put yourself in my shoes for a minute: think about how he treated me during our sophomore year; remember all the hateful things we said and did to each other then." She paused, then said, "would you have liked him or even desired him if you were me?"

Emily wanted to shoot Casey down, but she couldn't deny that if Derek had shown her the type of hostility he showed Casey, instead of the polite disregard he directed towards her, she wouldn't have been able to tolerate his presence, let alone liked or desired him.

"No, I guess I wouldn't have. But—

Casey sighed in exasperation. She had thought that she might've finally gotten through to Emily. Apparently, she was wrong.

"'But'—what?"

"But, what about all those times when he helped you out?"

"Oh, you mean all those times when he helped himself by way of helping me?"

"What—

Casey smiled wryly, before interrupting her. "Think about it, his "good deeds" were always just a little—or a lot—self serving."

That wasn't true, was it? Emily could think of at least a few times when Derek had lent a helping hand and hadn't gotten anything out of it.

"Helping you with your aunt Fiona's wedding and your relationship with Vicky?"

"No wedding, no wedding video."

"That kid at school," Emily wracked her brain trying to remember his name, and shrugged when she couldn't. "The guy you fell on—Derek got him to ease up on the teasing and stuff."

"If I was branded too much of a loser, my reputation could have begun to reflect badly on Derek's."

"He didn't tell you that, did he?"

"Of course he did, this is ass-Derek we're talking about."

In Emily's opinion Derek was still an ass—and that was putting it nicely—but, she decided to let that go, for now. If Casey was just going to come up with an explanation for everything nice Derek did, then Emily might as well move on. Besides, Casey's claim that she and Derek had truly been enemies during their sophomore year, her denial of it all being an act, raised a whole new set of questions.

"So, okay, let's say that I believe that you and Derek weren't attracted to each other and that you really didn't like each other…"

"Umm, okay," Casey said, tentatively. She was waiting on the other shoe to drop.

"If all that's true, I want to know when things changed. What prompted that turning point?"

Casey squinted up at her; she wasn't quite following Emily. "What do you mean?"

"That fight. The fight Derek got into with what's his name when we were juniors." Emily paused for a moment, letting her mind drift back to that monumental day. She could still see it all so clearly, the concern he showed for Casey, the gentle way he had eased her against that locker, his obvious anger with that other boy, and most importantly, the way he had referred to her as his 'sister'.

She looked at Casey, breaking herself out of her memories. "I think we can both agree that his motives for helping you _that_ day hadn't been purely selfish. I mean, he practically broke that kid's nose."

"Yeah, he did," she agreed, weakly.

"What was really weird"—Emily seemed to be thinking out loud now; she wasn't even looking at Casey anymore—"was that you two hadn't even been speaking that week. Neither of you would say why, I just remember that you were both super pissed."

Casey could remember why; she remembered everything Emily was talking about perfectly. And, Emily was right, that fight had been the turning point of their relationship; nothing was ever quite the same between them again.

She sighed. She knew that Emily would ask about that fight eventually.

"Do you remember when I worked at Smellie Nellie's?" Casey asked, somewhat suddenly.

Emily nodded, not quite sure what that had to do with anything.

"Well, then you probably remember how that job ended."

Emily suppressed a grin. "You weren't waitress material, your boss was a power tripping jerk, and when you left, Derek, in a rare fit of brotherly devotion, quit too."

"Uh, close enough." She shrugged. "So, you know how I said that he never helped me unless he had a hidden agenda?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this time I called him out on it."

_Casey barged into Derek's room without so much as tapping on his door. She wanted some answers, and she knew that being polite and mannerly wasn't going to get anything out of Derek. _

"_Get out," Derek demanded, without even glancing at her._

"_Ummm, no. We need to talk." _

"_Can't. Reading."_

_Casey placed her hands upon her hips and glared down at his resting form. "Comics don't count."_

"_I beg to differ."_

_His refusal to look at her was really starting to grate on her nerves, so she snatched the comic book, which looked like it had belonged to his grandfather, out of his hands. _

"_Let me sum it up for you, Batman is gonna defeat the evildoer, Commissioner Gordon will try and fail to find out his identity, and nobody's gonna question why the sun never seems to shine in Gotham City. The End." She tossed the comic book on the floor to illustrate her point. "Now can we talk?"_

"_No." _

_Though it took a lot of effort, Casey pretended that she hadn't heard his refusal and started talking anyway. _

"_You just got a phone call." His gaze slid to her face, but he still looked wholly disinterested. "It seems that you're being offered your old job."_

"_I don't want it; that's why I quit." He shrugged. "Turns out, working really isn't my thing. I'm more of a give orders, not take orders, kind of guy."_

"_Could you cut the crap for like five seconds. The man who called told me why you quit. Now," she took a menacing step towards him, "I want to know why you did it."_

_He frowned up at her. "Didn't you just say that they told you why I quit?" Gone was the nonchalant tenor from his voice; he sounded genuinely perplexed. _

_Casey heaved a dramatic sigh; she was growing more annoyed by the second. Talking to Derek was always like pulling teeth—long and painful. _

"_He gave me the reason you gave him, and now I want the truth." She rolled her eyes. "Just tell me what was in it for you this time. Were you looking for a reason to quit, so you took the first opportunity that presented itself? Were you trying to bank some goodwill because you need a favor? What?"_

_Derek swung his legs down to the floor and sat up on his bed. The fact that he had the nerve to look insulted by her accusations was doing absolutely nothing to improve her mood. _

"_Whoever you spoke to probably told you the truth." He seemed to have forgotten that he had been determined not to discuss his quitting, and the reasons behind it, with her. "Our boss was a jackass, and he was obviously crazy too if he thought I was going to work for somebody who was constantly insulting my stepsister." _

_Casey started clapping, mockingly. "That was real nice, Derek, but you should have saved it; mom and George weren't around to hear you." She walked over to his door and opened it. "But, look, we can go downstairs and repeat it for them, if you want." _

_Derek got off his bed, walked over to where she stood, smiling at him innocently, and pushed his door shut. _

"_I never claimed to be 'Johnny-helps-a-lot.' But, why are you acting like this- like it's impossible that I did something nice just for the hell of it?"_

"_Because you're not nice, to me anyway," she responded simply. "You haven't been standing up for me 'just for the hell of it' and I don't think you had some sort of epiphany and decided to start now."_

"_Casey—_

"_Look," she cut in. He obviously wasn't going to admit anything to her, and she didn't want to hear anymore garbage about how she had it all wrong. "I really just came to tell you that whatever you're planning to get out of your "good deed"—she used air quotes—"I hope it doesn't involve me helping you, cause if it does you're S.O.L. I'm not doing you anymore favors." _

_She reached for the doorknob, but years of playing hockey had given him very good reflexes. Moving quickly, Derek grabbed her arm and drew her close, away from the door. _

"_That's really what you think of me?" he asked, in disbelief. "That I'm incapable of helping you, or even doing something nice for you, unless it somehow helps me."_

_Casey ignored the hurt in his eyes as she gave her honest answer, "Yes."_

_He released her arm instantly, as if it hurt to touch her. And this time when Casey turned to leave he didn't stop her. _

_As she walked the few steps to her own room, Casey had to fight to blink back her tears. She wished she could have believed him. It hurt to know that a family member held her in such little regard that the only time he could bring himself to help her was when he could get something out of it. It _really_ hurt. _

"So, that's why you two weren't speaking? He was offended and you were upset." Well, at least some things were starting to make sense. Emily had spent that whole week wondering why Casey and Derek were fighting right after he had done something so nice for her by quitting too.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And that fight with what's his name…" she trailed off, looking at Casey expectantly.

"I think it was Derek's way of proving a point."

"But all this still doesn't explain why you seemed relieved to see him when he helped you up," Emily said, recalling more of the details.

"I was relieved because I was frustrated, sad, and embarrassed; I recognized that I needed help, and I knew that if Derek was gonna make a show of helping me up in front of everybody, then he was going to lend a hand. For about half a second I even thought that maybe he was just helping me because it was another case of him not wanting my loser ways to make him look bad"—Emily threw her a skeptical look—"but I quickly dismissed that theory. As things unfolded, it was obvious that this situation was different."

"Agreed," Emily said, nodding. The only things Derek's fighting could have gained him was a suspension from school, an expulsion from the hockey team, or a busted head, if that kid had been a better fighter.

"The only thing I think Derek intended to gain from helping me that time," she said, seeming to have read Emily's mind, "was assurance that I knew he really cared about me."

Emily was nodding again, but she stopped abruptly. "Wait- so what happened after? One minute you guys were there, and then it was like you two had disappeared.

"Well…"

_When they made it out of the school building's back door, Casey finally quit dragging him along and let go of his arm. _

"_Jeez, what's your hurry?" he asked, finally getting a chance to rub his punching hand. _

"_The longer we stick around, the more likely it is that somebody sings like a canary and Laceter halls your butt into his office. Do you want to be suspended?" she asked, annoyed by his lazy gait. _

_He snorted. "Nobody's going to tell on me. I'm Derek," he said, by way of explanation._

"_Hmm, how silly of me to forget, ratting on you would be like committing social suicide."_

"_Exactly," he replied, smirking. _

"_Kind of like taking one of my assignments, huh?" She didn't receive an answer but, then, she hadn't expected one. "You really pulled his card."_

_Derek stopped walking and burst out laughing. "I 'pulled his card'? Where'd you hear that?"_

"_Hey," she said, hands flying to her hips. "I know some hip lingo."_

"_Yeah, cause all 'hip' people say 'lingo'." _

_They glared at each other, but started walking again. _

_It was a few minutes before either of them spoke again._

"_So, about what happened earlier, I just want to—_

"_Casey, you don't have to apologize." He sounded so smug. _

"_Good; cause I wasn't going to," she said, sending him an odd look. "I stand by what I said; typically when you help me you have a hidden agenda. But this time…" she trailed off and shrugged. "Look, I just wanted to say thanks."_

"_Welcome," he responded, looking slightly uncomfortable._

"_Well, okay then." She was a little uncomfortable too—it wasn't like she was in the habit of thanking Derek all the time. And the silence that was engulfing them as they continued walking was anything but relaxed._

_She huffed. '_Might as well put an end to our misery now,'_ she thought to herself. "So," she began, while enlarging the distance between them, "I'm gonna go to the library and see if they have the book I put on hold yet. I'll, uh, see you later, I guess." She turned to head in the opposite direction of their house, but Derek's voice halted her steps._

"_I'll come with you; maybe they have this month's Sports Illustrated." _

"_But," Casey started to protest, but something about the expression on his face stopped her words. She could tell that he was trying to look indifferent, but he wasn't quite successful in his mission. _

_As she stood their watching him, she came to the conclusion that the belief that most of society held about people not being able to recognize just how life altering a moment could be until after it had actually happened, was crap. Derek, in his own roundabout way, was extending an olive branch, and she could either accept it and see what became of it, or reject him thus ensuring that they fell back into their cycle of catty remarks and scathing insults. _

'Hmm… decisions, decisions.'

"_Whatever," she said, shrugging._

_Derek smirked, probably, at the overly ambiguous tone she had lent to that single word, but he walked over to her side._

_And just like that, slightly uncomfortable and very unsure, Derek and Casey headed, side by side, to the library._

"So then you guys became friends and lovers?" She sounded half-amused and half-angry.

The anger in her voice worried Casey more than anything. She hadn't even really got to the bad stuff yet, so if Emily was already this pissed… It didn't bode well for how she would react to future installments of the story.

"Well, not exactly, but—

"Sorry to interrupt"—it was their long forgotten waitress—"but we're closing in a few minutes." She glanced at Casey. "You're going to have to pick up your story elsewhere."

Casey almost giggled, the waitress really did sound 'sorry' about having to cut her off. So much so, that Casey began to wonder just how much of their conversation the girl had heard.

Emily glanced at her watch and what she saw made her mutter a swear word. "I didn't know it was this late. I've got to get home, but I'll, uh, call you tomorrow, and we can set up a time to talk next week, or something."

Emily really beat it out of there, but this time when her former friend made her great escape Casey wasn't worried. If nothing else, she knew she had piqued Emily's interest. Even though she probably wouldn't want to Casey was certain that Emily would really call her this time.

**TBC…**

**A/N: **S.O.L. stands for, shit out of luck. Getting your card pulled is when you are punked really badly. When Derek punched Jay and he didn't even fight back, and he was so obviously scared, Derek was pulling his card. If there are any questions or anything was confusing let me know.

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** There are no flashbacks in this chapter. Stressed words and thoughts are in italics.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

"Honey, I'm home," Derek called, in an overly cherry voice, as he stepped into his home.

Casey walked out into the living room from the kitchen, all the while regarding her husband strangely. She had actually thought that he was upset with her; he had pretended to be asleep the night before and that afternoon he didn't swing by her job during his lunch break. Daily visits had become sort of a tradition with them—he almost always paid her a call, but not that day. So she was just a little surprised by his sunny greeting. He sounded like Ward Cleaver, for goodness sake.

"What's with you? Next you'll expect me to start wearing pearls and pumps when I vacuum the rugs."

Derek walked over and planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek. When he pulled back he was smirking. "As long as you start vacuuming, I don't care what you wear."

The dishtowel she had been drying her hands with hit him squarely in the face, effectively ridding him of his smirk.

"This house is immaculate."

Derek glanced around the comfortably messy living room and cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at his indignant wife.

"Well, it would be immaculate if you'd make your sons follow my chore wheel."

"So they're just my sons now?"

"They are when they destroy my house, yes!"

He chuckled lightly. "Casey, they're teenage boys. They can't keep a house clean; it's not in their nature."

"If you know that"—it was obvious from her tone that she was trying to control herself—"then why are you jumping all over me about how the house looks?"

"Because it's so easy." He gathered her in his arms then, and she gave a halfhearted struggle, but eventually gave in."

"Ugh… you're such an ass sometimes," she said, through a smile. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you love me," he replied, easily.

"True, but- wait, I _am _mad at you," she said, extricating herself from his grasp.

"Why?"

"Because you were mad at me, and for no reason I might add." When she folded her arms across her chest and gave him one of her infamous looks, he sighed.

"I wasn't mad at you."

"Liar."

Derek contemplated sticking to his story—he knew he would eventually be able to get him to believe her—but he quickly gave up on that idea. There was no sense in turning this into some big long drawn out thing when he wasn't even mad anymore. Better to just admit it and get it over with.

"Okay, so I was mad."

"But, why?"

"Why do you think?" he asked her, incredulously, wondering if she honestly didn't know.

"_Derek_." Her voice held a distinct warning.

"Hmm… I don't know," he sounded confused, "maybe because the woman I am currently sleeping with is insisting upon becoming best friends with the woman I used to sleep with."

Casey rolled her eyes. "If I'm not aloud to speak to any women you've slept with, then you better see if your job has any openings in the States."

"Ha ha."

"Well, I'm glad one of us is amused, because—

"Casey, stop," he demanded, before she could get completely worked up. "I'm not even upset anymore, so let's just drop it."

She eyed him, a look somewhere between curiosity and irritation marring her features, before sighing. "What changed your mind?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, "I still think this whole 'trip down memory lane' thing is a bad idea, but if I can stop you—

"You can't," she said, responding to the questioning lilt in his voice.

"—then I'm not going to waste my time being upset about it."

"Umm, well, that's very mature of you." Casey was clearly surprised by his about-face, but it was a pleasant surprise.

"And, besides," he continued, as if she hadn't spoken, "Once this whole thing blows up in your face, I'll be there to say 'I told you so.'"

"_Derek_!"

But he was spared from hearing a tirade by the ringing of her cell phone. Reaching into her pocket, Casey pulled out her phone and flipped it open. She had been too busy glaring at Derek to glance at the caller ID, so she was more than a little surprised when she heard Emily's voice on the other end.

"Emily, hi." She said her name pointedly, to which Derek pulled a face.

(…)

"Sure, okay."

(…)

"Well, see you then. Bye." Casey snapped her phone shut and sent Derek a triumphant look. "Emily was calling to see if I could meet her tonight instead of Friday. You see, Derek," she smiled brightly, "I'm slowly reeling her in; she can't wait to hear more."

"Congratulations," he clapped mockingly. "You should be very proud of yourself- giving ammunition to our biggest enemy, what an accomplishment."

Her smile fell. "I thought you weren't going to be upset anymore."

"I lied," he said, simply. And she really couldn't tell if he was messing with her or what.

"_Derek!_"

"Wow. Three '_Derek_s' in one conversation," he nodded, "you _must_ be pissed."

Her composure seemed to give all of a sudden. With eyes blinking rapidly, as if to hold back tears, and lips trembling, she said, voice shaky, "It's not funny."

Seeing his distraught wife, Derek immediately felt guilty. "Jesus, Casey," he said, closing the distance between them and gathering her in his arms, "don't cry. You know, I can't stand to see you in tears."

"Then try to understand."

Silence engulfed the embracing couple for a moment, while Derek seemed to be having an internal debate. Finally, he sighed in defeat.

"Go see Emily; have your meeting, and I'll try to understand." The words sounded as if they had to be pulled from his throat, but Casey could tell he meant what he said.

"Thank-you, Derek."

"But promise me you won't get your hopes up too high; I think you have unrealistic expectations."

"I won't," she assured him, as she eased out of his grasp. Walking towards the coat hook, she grabbed a light jacket and slipped it on, before throwing her purse on her shoulder.

Watching his wife wipe her eyes and run a hand through her hair, Derek couldn't help but shake his head.

"Be careful; be smart."

Casey didn't really understand his somewhat cryptic words, but nodded anyway before leaving.

"Hey, dad, what's mom doing?" Derek's oldest son asked, as he bounded down the steps.

"I have no idea, Nate. No idea." His words were the God's honest truth.

OOOOOOOO

Emily was at her wit's end. Really, if Sam had been standing close enough she would have slugged him.

"What is your problem?"

"My problem?" he echoed, incredulous. "I'm not the one acting crazy."

She cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow and regarded him coolly. "Excuse me?"

He ignored her angry stance and kept right on ranting. "I come home, after a long, hard, day at work, wanting nothing more than to surprise my wife with flowers, and what do I hear?" He didn't give her a chance to respond. "My wife talking to—

"So, you can talk to Casey on the phone, but I can't?"

Sam recoiled as she fairly flung the words at him.

"Emily—

"I shouldn't have had to hear it from her; and why are you updating that woman on the status of our relationship anyway?"

"It wasn't like that, I—

"And, if you don't want to hear _my_ conversations, then don't barge into _my_ house and _my_ bedroom," she snapped. "You don't even live here anymore."

Their conversation was going straight to hell, fast. Sam knew he had to rein her back in before she got so worked up that she called off their courtship, as she referred to it.

He blew out an agitated breath. "Look, I just… I mean--" He cleared his throat and began again. "I just wasted Lord knows how many years being preoccupied with Casey and Derek"—he paused—"now that we are finally getting it together, don't you think it's a bad idea to get caught up in all that again?"

Emily didn't have to think about her response. "No. See, unlike you, I'm not in love with Casey; I just want some answers." She softened a bit at his hurt look. "It was a cheap shot, I know, but"—she paused and huffed. "Look, the diner closed in the middle of her story—

Sam made a chocking noise. "You met with her before?" He looked like he might faint.

She regarded him oddly for a moment—maybe he wasn't as bright as she thought. "Uh, how else would I know about your phone conversation?"

"I thought maybe she called to gloat and get you stirred up, or something."

"Jeez, she's not _that_ evil," she said, under her breath.

But Sam heard her, and when he did his eyes widened comically.

"_What_?"

"Umm…" Emily really didn't know how to explain that comment. It had slipped out before she could even think about it, and now she wondered if she actually believed that. God, she hoped she didn't; she did not want to forgive Casey. Truth be told, she didn't want to ever have to see her or talk to her again. But Casey's story had been so interesting, and Emily had spent her whole day at work preoccupied, going over every detail in her mind; she hadn't been able to stop herself from calling Casey and pushing up the date of their next meeting.

"I'm waiting."

"So what?" she responded, snapping out of her thoughts. "This isn't any of your business."

"What?" _Is she serious? _"This is so completely my business that it's not even funny. If you looked up 'Sam's business' in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of yourself talking to Casey. I mean—

"Sam," she cut in, annoyed.

"Emily," his tone was considerably less patronizing; now he simply sounded dead serious. "You have got to know that nothing good can possibly come of you hanging out with Casey."

"I'm with you when you're right," Tony declared, walking into his parent's bedroom and moving to stand beside his father.

He and his father would probably never recapture the relationship they shared when he was a child. And, he didn't even particularly like him, but Tony couldn't deny the truth of his dad's words. In his opinion, his parents needed to stay as far away from Casey and Derek as they possibly could.

Emily ignored his opinion, and asked, "How long have you been listening?"

"Long enough to know you must like punishing yourself."

"Tony's right." Sam was glad for the backup. "I really think—

She grumbled, loudly. "Don't you get it? What you two think is irrelevant right now. Now, look," she began sort of rubbing her hands together, "I'm wiping my hands of the both of you, and I'm going to meet Casey. And, it probably won't be the last time."

She shook her head at the both of them, before grabbing her belongings off her dresser and heading out the door.

OOOOOOOO

When Emily slid into their regular both at the familiar diner, Casey smiled up at her.

"Glad you could make it, for a minute I thought—

Emily made a sweeping gesture with her hands. "Sorry I'm late, Sam started," she stopped abruptly and cleared her throat. "Never mind, it's not important." She didn't want to become too familiar with Casey by telling her all her business; it would just be too weird.

Noticing Emily's sudden mood change, Casey's smile dampened a bit, but she held onto it. "That's okay; I got here right before you. I had to fix my boys some dinner, and then Derek was being a total—

"Wait- you have kids?" she sputtered.

"Yeah, two boys." She began rifling through her purse. "I have pictures of them somewhere."

Casey's head was bent so she didn't notice Emily shaking her head back and forth and rubbing her hand over her rapidly perspiring forehead.

Really, Emily didn't know why she was surprised—married people typically had children, that's just what they did. But somehow the idea of Derek and Casey having children made everything even more real than it already was, if such a thing was even possible.

Casey held out what appeared to be a recent picture and pointed to the two boys in it. "The older one with the blue eyes is Nathan and the younger one is Shawn."

There was so much parental pride on Casey's face, and Emily was never the type to blame the children for the sins of the parent's, so she sighed and said, "They really are handsome boys." She really had tried to keep her voice level, but it was hard. Looking at that picture was like looking straight into the past. Except for his eyes, Nathan looked exactly like Derek had back in the day.

"Do you have any children?" Casey wasn't dumb, she knew Emily was trying to stay tightlipped, but she had to get her to open up, even if it meant she had to pry.

"Yeah, twins."

When Casey eyeballed her expectantly, Emily huffed and dug into her own purse, pulling out a picture and handing it to Casey.

Casey had to give it up, Emily and Sam had produced some truly good looking kids. The girl was very pretty and there was something about her that just seemed to sparkle, but the boy, the boy looked like he was auditioning for a spot on a WB drama, he looked so broody. Casey couldn't help but wonder if she had something to do with his mood.

"What are their names?"

"Tony and Lauren," she uttered, before clamping her lips shut.

"Wow. They are so attractive. I can't believe you had twins," Casey gushed. "Remember how you always used to say you wanted twins when we were younger, that is, until that time we had to baby-sit Dimi and Marti." She laughed. "They really let us have it that day—

"Maybe we should get back to the story," Emily suggested, cutting in and snatching her photo out of Casey's hands. She didn't want to remember all the fun times they had together, she just wanted to get down to business.

"Oh, um, okay," Casey said, a little taken aback. "Where were we?"

"You were about to tell me how you two hooked up, I think."

"Oh, well…"

**TBC…**

**A/N:** This chapter didn't come out the way I had planned; there was supposed to be a flashback in it, but if I had done that this chapter would have been ridiculously long. I hoped y'all enjoyed it anyway. Let me know what you thought.

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Stressed words and thoughts are in italics. During flashbacks stressed words and thoughts are in a normal font.

I really don't want to rush the story so this chapter may not be what you all are expecting, but I hope you like it anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

"Well, what?" Emily prompted, crisply. She was ready to get to the meat of the story.

It was obvious that Emily thought the worst of her, so Casey wasn't sure if she'd believe that things between her and Derek had progressed fairly slowly. But that was the truth—and the truth was what Emily wanted, supposedly, so that's what she would receive.

"Look, I get the feeling that you think that one day Derek winked at me and I decided to fall into bed with him, but that's just not how it went down."

Emily's brows rose dramatically, but she bit her tongue. There was no sense in sidetracking Casey by accusing her of lying.

Casey resisted the urge to verbally respond to the accusations Emily's eyes were throwing at her, and, instead, decided to continue. "We were friends"—she shrugged, before qualifying that statement—"sort of anyway, before we engaged in anything er … umm… physical."

"Really?" Emily was simply baiting Casey. She actually remembered the period when Derek's and Casey's odd little friendship had sprung up, but she wanted to hear Casey talk about it anyway.

"Yes, really," she snapped, voice a little harsher than she intended. "I mean, we weren't best friends or anything—

"Not even close, if I recall correctly."

"—but there were times when we did hang out, just the two of us; and we had fun, even if we didn't want to admit it then."

_Casey sighed contentedly. It was really shaping up to her lucky day. When she had rolled into the house at about two in the morning, instead of the yell fest she had expected, she was greeted by absolutely nothing—no angry parents, no snitching little siblings; she was home free. To make things even better, she had woken up to an empty house. There was a note telling her who was at what meeting and what practice, but she barely skimmed it—she had all the information she needed: the house was empty, and it was going to remain that way for at least a couple of hours. _

_Snatching the rare opportunity for some peace and quiet, Casey decided to cop out of her planned shopping trip with Emily and lounge around the house with a good book. It may not have sounded like much to some people, but it was definitely her idea of a good time. _

_But she wasn't a good two chapters into her favorite Southern Vampire novel, when the front door opened and Derek sauntered in lazily dribbling a basketball. _

"_Nice to see you finally decided to join the land of the living, princess," Derek commented, smirking at the annoyed expression on her face. _

"_That's rich coming from the boy suffering from narcolepsy."_

"_Narcowhatsy?" _

"_Narcolepsy," she repeated, annoyed. "It is a condition characterized by deep—_

_Derek waved a hand, cutting her off. "I know what it means"—Casey eyed him questioningly—"Deuce Bigalow was my favorite movie for like a year," he explained._

"_Of course it was," she murmured, before refocusing her attention on her book. _

"_What cha reading?" _

"_A book."_

"_Which book?"_

"_Dead Until Dark__," she answered, hoping he'd run out of questions soon._

"_Haven't you read that one before?" _

_Casey looked up from her book for the first time since Derek had started his game of twenty questions. "How'd you know that?" While Charlaine Harris knew how to write a page turner, her books were a tad cheesy and more than a little racy and offbeat. Casey loved the woman's work, but she hardly went around advertising the fact that she read those types of books, so she was just a little surprised that Derek would know to ask something like that. _

"_How long are you going to be reading?" Derek asked, obviously choosing not to answer her question._

_Casey sighed and returned to her book. "Until I'm done." _

"_And how long will that be?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_You could take an educated guess . . . _

"_And you could leave me alone," she snapped, fed up with his endless questions and the annoying sound of him dribbling the basketball. She sighed again, before asking, in as civil a voice as she could manage, "What are you even doing here? I thought you had a play date with Sam today."_

"_I did, but his mom said he couldn't come out and play." He pouted like a three year old then and Casey had the strongest urge to laugh. "He's grounded for breaking curfew."_

_She blushed at the news. "Oh, really?"_

"_Yes, really." Derek started to edge towards Casey, all the while rubbing his hand against his chin thoughtfully. "But, what I don't get is, how could Sam have broken curfew and you didn't, when he's allowed to stay out later than you are? I mean, you did go out with Sam last night, didn't you?" _

"_Uh, yes," she answered, weakly. _

"_So exactly what time did you roll into the house?" _

_She snapped her book shut and tossed it onto the coffee table. "What do you want, Derek?" _

"_Me? Nothing," he assured her. "Pick up your book," she eyeballed him warily, "go ahead," he gestured to it, "I'm no rat." _

"_Oh, well, thanks." She picked it up, but as soon as she had found the place she had left off, the basketball Derek had been holding hit her in the head._

"Derek,_ what the hell is your problem?" she sputtered, outraged. Maybe she was naïve, but she really hadn't been expecting _that.

"_Chillax, drama queen; it barely tapped you," he said, before plucking the ball out of her grasp and resuming his dribbling. _

"_It hit me in the head."_

_He shrugged. "You say tomato, I say—_

"_What is it you want? Would you please just tell me, so we can put an end to this conversation?" _

_Derek seemed to have realized that he had crossed over from amusingly annoying to just plain annoying, because he quit attempting to spin the ball on his finger and adopted a charming expression. "Play basketball with me."_

_Casey's mouth dropped opened a bit, and then she erupted into a fit a giggles. When, after a few minutes, she composed herself and noticed that Derek wasn't joining in her merriment, she straightened up a bit. "Oh, you were serious . . . um, no thanks."_

"_Oh," he mocked, "you were under the impression that I was asking? Let me spell it out for you: either play a game with me or I'm telling Nora you broke curfew," he threatened._

_She sat up from her lounging position and rose from the couch, hands upon her hips. "B-b-but you said you wouldn't tell."_

"_I lied." His tone was flat, but she could see the slightest twinkle in his eyes and that sparked her anger more than anything. _

'Why is it that he always seems to be amused when I'm pissed?'

"_God! I hate you sometimes," she yelled, frustrated with her lack of choices. Stomping over to the coat hooks she grabbed a jacket and slipped it on. "Humph, snitches get stitches," she mumbled, under her breath. _

"_What was that?" he asked, following her quickly retreating form out the door._

"_Nothing."_

_OOOO_

_Long gone was her jacket. Casey was hot, sweaty, uncomfortable, and for some reason she couldn't fathom, she was having a good time. Sure, Derek had beaten her in every game they'd played, but there was just something magic about playing a game of Horse in the park on a Saturday afternoon. She felt young; she felt carefree—and even if it had been unintentional, she knew she had Derek to thank for her current state. She just wouldn't ever tell him that. _

"_One more game, princess, you might even score this time." _

"_Right," she laughed wryly, "cause this game is magically gonna be different from the last five."_

"_It could be," he said, while taking the ball through his legs in a way Casey couldn't imagine herself ever being able to do._

"_When did you become an optimist?"_

"_I've always been an optimist." He smirked, before hurling the ball towards the hoop and sinking in a perfect three pointer. "Nothing but net." _

_Casey's lip quirked._ 'So modest.' _"I guess it's hard to be pessimistic when you have everything going for you."_

"_Was that a compliment?" He passed her the ball._

"_Sure, if that's how you want to take it—_

"_That's how you said it," he insisted._

"_Whatever." They were slipping into uncomfortable territory, and Casey didn't want to spoil the relaxed camaraderie that had popped up between them, so she changed the subject. "Fine; one more game, but I get ball first."_

"_Of course," he agreed, with a mock bow. _

_She marched up to the basket and stood as close to it as she possibly could without being ridiculous, and threw the ball up. By some miracle, it actually went in. Casey began jumping up and down excitedly and clapping her hands. "It went in! Did you see?"_

"_I'm standing right here, Casey," he said, retrieving the ball. "But remember, I get a turn—if I can sink the same shot we're still even."_

"_Duh!" She rolled her eyes. "I may not be Wayne Gretzky, but I think I know the rules of Horse."_

_Derek almost dropped the ball. "Gretzky played—_

_She almost laughed at his pale expression—he looked sick. "I know what sport he played. I was joking, Derek."_

"_Oh. Well, thank God," he mumbled. He dribbled the ball a couple of times before tossing it up . . . and missing._

_Casey's eyes bulged, and for a minute Derek was reminded of that wolf in those old cartoons he used to watch on Saturday mornings when he was a kid. _

"_You missed"—she was jumping around again—"you actually missed a shot."_

"_Once again, Casey, I'm standing right here." He was trying to sound annoyed, but it came out more amused. "Your ball."_

_OOOO_

_She was engaged in what was turning out to be the longest game of Horse in basketball history, and she didn't know if she should be happy she was winning or angry that Derek doubted her ability to win on her own merits so much that he was, so obviously, throwing the game._

"_Are you gonna play?"_

"_I am playing." Just then he attempted, and missed, a lay-up that he had hit at least a dozen times already that day. _

"Derek!"

"_You pout when you loose—_

"_I was not pouting!"_

_Derek cocked a brow, but refrained from debating the issue. "You pout when you win—you're impossible. You know that, right?"_

"_Well, I'll smile when I'm really earning my win."_

"_Since you think I'm cheating why don't we agree that whoever hits the next shot wins it all? And I promise to try my best to beat you," he added, before she could say anything._

_She considered his suggestion for a moment and nodded. "Fine, but I want you to go first."_

_He shrugged. Scooting back to the three point line, Derek gave a few practice wrist flicks, before throwing the ball up. It rolled around the rim a few times before falling off the edge. He had missed._

'Even Derek isn't skillful enough to have purposely missed a shot in such a way.'

_Satisfied that Derek had done his best, Casey recovered the ball and went in for a lay-up and the ball went in. _

"_I WON!" she yelled. "I really beat you in something that didn't involve school. Yes!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist._

"_Okay, Jordan, you got to gloat, can we go home now?"_

"_Fine, sour puss." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Just let me go to the restroom first; I must look like a pig."_

"_Hurry up," he snapped. _

_He seemed upset about losing so she took off in the direction of the park center where the restrooms were; she had to get some of this sweat off her face before she even thought about going anywhere. When she made it to the center's entrance, she turned around to see if Derek was throwing a fit yet, and what she saw made her gasp. There he was standing at the three point line, sinking shot after shot. She counted ten successful baskets in a row before she shuffled dazedly through the entrance doors. _

'Why would he do that?' _she asked herself. Then she recalled his words from just a few moments earlier: "You pout when you loose …" _'Was _that_ why? Had he just been trying to make me feel good?' _Well, if that had been his plan, it worked. She gave a small smile—it was getting easier to see Derek's sweetness for what it was, and harder to doubt his intentions. What would he have to gain from throwing a game of Horse? _

_Casey couldn't think of a single thing._

Emily didn't know how many of her dates with Derek had been spent at the arcade, or at the park watching him shoot free throws, or at the ice rink watching him run drills, and she didn't even need to think hard to remember how many games he had thrown just to see her smile: none. Yup, that little bit of information had done little to improve her feelings for Derek. But, angry as she was, she had to admit that him purposely losing that game had been one of the sweetest things she had ever heard. However, that wasn't something she was planning on sharing.

Coming out of her thoughts, she asked, "That's not it, is it?"

"What do you mean?" Casey questioned, perplexed.

"Your friendship, or whatever, wasn't composed of only Derek centric activities, was it?" She shrugged. "Heck, maybe it was. I mean, Derek was a real ass"—she was purposely agitating Casey then—"and known for being selfish, so it's not surprising that—

Emily was successful in her endeavor. "Hey," Casey cut in, ready to defend her husband, "he wasn't perfect, but he wasn't completely self-centered either; we did stuff I wanted to do too."

"Sure." Emily sounded skeptical, but she didn't really doubt Casey's words—apparently Derek was capable of anything when it came to Casey—she just wanted her to elaborate.

"We did," Casey assured her fiercely.

"_Remind me again, why did I agree to this?" Derek asked, sounding on the verge of tears. _

_He was waiting in the box office line with Casey, and while he loved movies, he was pretty sure he wasn't going to love The Long Hot Summer. He hadn't ever heard of it, but from what Casey had been telling him about it there weren't going to be any explosions, sports montages, or tawdry sex scenes- in short, it was going to be totally lame. _

"_Because you owe me," she explained, looking up at him. "This doesn't even begin to compare with the workout you've been giving me; you're worse than the gym teacher."_

"_Hey, you weren't my first choice. I can't help it that Sam lives in the house of perpetual punishment; I don't think he's seen daylight for a month."_

"_Well," Casey bristled at the implication that he didn't like spending time with her, "you weren't my first choice either. Liz has stupid tae-kwon-do and mom was always a Steve McQueen fan."_

"_Who?"_

"_Ugh, never mind," she said, rolling her eyes. "Could you just be quiet and try to enjoy yourself?"_

_He shook his head at her and frowned. "Why try to do something I clearly won't succeed at?" _

_She almost smiled at the genuine note of confusion in his voice. _

_OOOO_

"_Well . . ." Casey prompted when they stepped out of the theatre a little over two hours later._

"_Well, it didn't suck," he admitted, "at least Paul Newman's character was kind of cool."_

"_So, you'll come with me next week to see The Hustler?" she asked, smiling brightly. "He's in that too." _

_Derek moaned. "Do I have to?"_

"_Do I have to keep being your personal rebounder whenever you can't find anyone else?" she countered. _

_They stared at each other for a long moment, each one trying to force the other to back down, but when Casey pouted, Derek sighed and looked away._

"_What time does it start?" _

Okay, the basketball was one thing, but going to movies together . . . Emily remembered them being chummy around that time, but they had never mentioned anything to her, or anyone she knew for that matter, about them hanging out alone together. That whole movie thing seemed an awful lot like a date to Emily, but Casey hadn't referred to it as such, so maybe it wasn't. Either way, it was a pretty big deal. _'When did Casey's pout become Derek's kryptonite?' _

"Why didn't y'all tell anyone that you were hanging out? Why'd you still fight in front of everyone?" Emily asked, her voice coming out more anxious than she had intended.

"We still fought because we still annoyed each other, and we still do today—all the pick up games and old school movies in the world couldn't change that," she answered, honestly. "And, it's not like we_ didn't_ tell people we were hanging out, we just didn't _not _tell people we were hanging out."

That was a cop out answer and Casey knew it, but she honestly didn't know how to respond to Emily's question. She had often wondered why the details of their friendship, if one could even call it that, were a secret even back when they weren't fooling around. The only halfway reasonable answer she could come up with was that maybe somewhere deep, deep, down inside she and Derek had known that their relationship had . . . sexual potential, so they had decided to keep certain things secret from the beginning as a kind of preemptive strike.

Emily wanted to pry further into the subject, but Casey seemed genuinely unable to answer, so she was forced to move on.

"Okay, I'll accept that, for now." Casey smiled thankfully, but Emily pretended not to notice—she was moving on out of necessity, not want. "So, what's next?"

**TBC…**

**A/N:** Let me know what you thought!

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Stressed words and thoughts are in italics. During flashbacks stressed words and thoughts are in a normal font.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

Casey debated a moment about what to tell Emily next, but the correct choice was clear. It was apparent that Emily was more than ready to know how she and Derek had come together. And since Emily was now aware that they had been friends first, Casey felt that it was an appropriate time to go into what exactly had sparked her romantic relationship with Derek.

But Casey had to know one thing first.

"So you believe me right—you believe that Derek and I were kind of friends before we ever did anything?" Casey just wanted to be sure before she went any further.

Emily eyeballed her anxious companion oddly. It was obvious that Casey desperately wanted Emily to believe she was telling the truth. But, why? _'She probably doesn't want me to think she's any more of a slut than I already believe her to be.'_ And Emily could see her point; because if Casey was the type of girl who would cheat on her boyfriend with somebody she didn't even like, then what kind of person did that make her?

Emily gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Yeah, I believe you," she assured her, and she was telling the truth. "So, what's next?" she asked again.

Casey blew out a shaky breath. "Next came our first kiss."

"_Argh," Casey growled, reaching over and punching him on the shoulder. "Would you stop looking at me like that?"_

_Derek was so surprised to hear her speak that he lost control of the wheel for a minute and the car actually swerved a bit. She guessed she couldn't really blame him for his reaction, they had been riding for at least five minutes and that had been the first thing she'd said to him since she had called him twenty-five minutes earlier asking for a ride home from the diner. Even that phone call had been cryptic and short, she hadn't given any details except the diner's address. _

"_That depends," he glanced at her, "will you stop looking like you're about to burst into tears?" _

_She folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not sad; I am _pissed_." _

"_Why?" He was undeniably curious. "What happened?"_

"_Nothing." Her tone may have been flat, but it was obvious she was lying._

"_Aww, what happened, did Sammy boy stand you up?"_

_Casey noticeably stiffened in her seat and didn't answer._

"_Wait- did he stand you up?" He sounded so surprised. Then, just like that, his grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point that it looked painful and Casey could tell that he was beyond pissed. "I'll break that bastard."_

_She couldn't stop her eyes from rolling, even if there was something endearing about his misguided threat. "Calm down, big brother, Sam didn't stand me up. He doesn't even know what I was doing tonight, and I don't want you telling him either."_

"_How could I? I have no idea what's going on."_

"_And that's how it's gonna stay." _

"_But, Casey—_

"_No, Derek."_

_He put on his most charming smile. "Come on, Case, how can I cheer you up if I don't know what's wrong?"_

"_I don't want to be cheered up." She seriously had to resist the urge to stomp her foot. "I just want to sit here and stew in my own anger!" She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but she simply did not care._

"_Okaay," he said, as if she were crazy. "Look princess, if you tell me what's wrong I promise I'll go to see that movie with you, what's it called, Dog on a Hot Tin Roof?"_

_It was the "princess" that did it. Or, maybe it was the fact that she knew that his offer to spend time with her was genuine. Well, for whatever reason, Casey was suddenly crying hysterically and Derek was pulling the car over to the side of the road._

"_Casey?" he said, tentatively. _

"_He promised," she wailed, through her sobs. "This time," her breathing was erratic, "was supposed to be different." She swiped at her eyes, but new tears quickly took the place of the ones she had gotten rid off. "I've been there since six, Derek," she said, before breaking down even more._

_Derek's gaze hit upon the clock on his radio. An hour and forty-five minutes, that's how long Casey must've been waiting at that diner._

"_Who promised?"_

"_My dad," she said, between cries, "who else?" She may have been upset, but she was still aware at how little surprise Derek showed at her revelation. But, then, why would he have been surprised? Why was she surprised? This type of behavior was typical for her father, but . . . this time was supposed to be different. _

"_Come here," he said, reaching for her, but she drew back from his touch._

"_I'm okay—I'll be okay in a minute," she assured him. But they both knew she was lying._

"_Come on, princess," he implored, reaching for her again._

_There went that word again- "princess." And that's just how her dad used to say it, low and tender, like he cared about her most of all. But, apparently, he didn't feel that way anymore. _

_She threw herself into Derek's arms and buried her face in his neck. "Why doesn't he love me?"_

_Derek rubbed her back awkwardly. "He does love you," he promised. "He just, well, he's an ass."_

_Casey giggled slightly; trust Derek to try to make her feel better by calling her father an ass._

"_I'm serious," he pulled back a little and looked at her, "Dennis is cool, but he is an ass. Trust me, all asses have this sort of . . . assdar thing"—he smiled when he heard her giggle again—"so I can totally pick an ass right out. See, the thing with your dad is he means well, but he sucks." _

_She shook her head at him. This shouldn't have been making her feel better, but it was. _

"_He probably really thought that he was going to make it to your dinner when you two made the plans, and then he just forgot about it. I'm sure he's gonna feel horrible when he realizes what he did."_

"_Yeah, well," Casey said, scooting back over to her own seat, "he's just going to have to realize his mistake on his own this time, because I'm not calling him."_

"_Sure you will," he said, immediately discounting her claim._

"_Explain that, please." Her voice was icy, but at least she wasn't crying anymore._

"_You'll call him, because you're a good daughter." He sounded matter-of-fact. "You'll call him, and you'll explain what happened, and when he apologizes you _will_ forgive him, because that's just the kind of person you are."_

_Casey's face began to crumple again._

"_Jesus," he sounded keyed up and wary at the same time, "don't start crying again."_

"_Then stop being so sweet to me!"_

"_Fine!"_

"_Fine!"_

_They glared at each other for a moment, until Derek broke eye contact by reaching into his glove compartment. He pulled out some old napkins he had nicked from a fast food place a couple of weeks earlier and handed one to Casey. _

"_Here, clean yourself up before we get home. I don't want Nora thinking I made you cry or something," he joked weakly._

"_Derek," she reached over and gave his hand a quick squeeze, "thanks, for, you know, everything."_

_OOOO_

_Casey was lying in bed, but sleep proved elusive. She was still in too much of a funky mood to fall asleep. And part of her thought maybe she should go thank Derek again, and probably apologize for the way she had dashed out of the car and ran up to her room without a word. After she had thanked him, the rest of the car ride had been fairly silent and kind of uncomfortable, but her haste to make it to her room had more to do with her not wanting to explain things to her mother than her need to escape Derek's company. _

_Coming to the conclusion that things would only get more uncomfortable if Derek thought that she was weirded out with him or something, she decided to go talk to him._

_When Casey made it to his door she saw that it was slightly cracked and she could hear his voice. Glancing through the crack, she realized that he was on the phone. She contemplated returning to her room and coming back later, but then she thought about what Derek would do in the same situation . . . _

'_Stay and listen,' won out. _

"_I'm fine, peachy, in fact. But do you know who's not fine?" Derek paused for about a millisecond. "Your daughter," he roared, answering his own question._

"_Oh," Derek gave a mirthless laugh, "I am calm; I haven't even gotten started yet. Cause what I really want to know is, what kind of bastard can forget about his daughter so easily?"_

"_What am I talking about?" He sounded incredulous. "You really are unbelievable, you know that, right?"_

"_Sure, I'll relax, just as soon as you man up and stop treating your daughter like something that's stuck to the bottom of your shoe," he said, before slamming the phone down onto the hook. _

"_Prick," Derek mumbled, under his breath._

_Casey's eyes were starting to water again, but her smile was genuine as she pushed open the door and sidled up to Derek. His back was turned towards her, so he didn't notice her presence until she slid her arms around his waist and gave him a quick hug._

"_Thanks for that," Casey whispered, while pulling away._

_Talking things out had been Casey's reason for coming to see Derek, but after hearing him telling off her father she just wanted to go back to her room and think._

_But Derek seemed to have other plans. Grabbing hold of Casey's hand, he pulled her closer to him and just sort of stared at her._

"_Umm, what?" she asked, with unease. His stare was unnerving._

"_Why me?" _

"_I don't understand the question." Her confusion sounded authentic, but she had a horrible feeling that she knew exactly what he meant._

"_Out of all the people you could've called to give you a ride home, why did you call me?" He bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair. "Your mother—_

"_My mother would've had plenty to say about my father, none of which I wanted to hear."_

"_Okay." He seemed to accept that explanation. "But what about Emily?"_

_Casey shook her head. "Em's on a date with Sheldon."_

_Derek's eyebrows rose dramatically—he obviously hadn't been expecting that—but he made no comment._

"_I just didn't want to bother her."_

"'_Bother her,' or _rescue _her?" _

"_Derek," she chastised him, "Sheldon's a nice guy. If you would just give him a chance—_

_He rolled his eyes. "Try not to get sidetracked, princess." He paused, before saying, "so what about Sam?"_

"_Uhh . . . Sam?"_

"_Yes, Sam—my best friend, your boyfriend," he elaborated. "Why didn't you call him?"_

_That was a good question. Why hadn't she called Sam? They both knew that Sam would have agreed to pick her up, no questions asked. He'd have driven her home, all the while comforting her to the best of his ability. Sam would have said and done all the right things, yet her first instinct had been to call Derek, a guy who she argued with on a daily basis and wrestled with for control of the remote. 'But why?' _

_And then, all of a sudden, as she glanced up into his concerned eyes, it hit her like a ton of bricks. _

"_I like Derek," she blurted out. Her hand was covering her mouth within seconds of the words leaving her lips._

_Derek looked dumbfounded. "Umm, what now?"_

"_I like you." This time it sounded a little less like a question, but Derek still looked like he might pass out. "I just, I mean," she stopped speaking abruptly, and leaned in to kiss him. Her lips barely brushed over his, but she was still breathless when she pulled away. "I like you," she repeated, staring at him nervously._

_His mouth opened and closed several times before anything came out. "So," his voice sounded odd, but he cleared his throat and continued, "how did you . . ." he trailed off, but she was following him._

"_I don't know." She sounded angry with herself. "It's just, you call me 'princess,' and you called my dad, and you're sweet when you're not being a total ass, and, hell, I don't know why or how, or anything," she sighed in exasperation, "I just know I like you. So, uh," she began chewing on her lip, "do you like me?" _

_He looked at her like she was crazy, and at that moment Casey wanted the floor to just open up and swallow her._ 'Could this be more embarrassing?'

"_Well, duh." _

_His words were simple and far from eloquent but they were all Casey needed to hear to put a smile on her face._

"_So . . ."_

"_So," she echoed._

"_So, this is definitely going to be different," he said, sporting one of his infrequent genuine grins._

"And, as you know, Derek's prediction about our relationship turned out to be correct," Casey said, wryly.

But Emily wasn't really listening, something had just occurred to her.

"When exactly did you guys first kiss?"

"I don't know, it's not like I remember the exact date—

Emily waved an impatient hand, cutting her off. "No, I mean, you mentioned me going out with Sheldon—

"Yeah, so what?" Casey was lost.

"So, the only dates I ever went on with Sheldon occurred before I started dating Derek."

"Emily," Casey shook her head, apologetically, "I'm still not following—

"If you and Derek were together before me and Derek, then that means that, technically, I was the other woman," she clarified, looking nauseous. "Oh my god."

Emily looked about ready to have a meltdown, so Casey figured she had better nip Emily's line of thinking in the bud before the woman got even more confused than she already was.

"You were _not_ 'the other woman,' Emily; that title was solely mine. Derek and I weren't together when you two started going out, so don't worry, you're still better than me." Casey winced, that came out a little bitchier than she had intended.

Emily fought the urge to respond to that comment; there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Explain," she demanded.

**TBC . . .**

**A/N:** Let me know what you thought.

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hey, I apologize about the last chapter. I noticed, after I had uploaded it, that the formatting had gotten messed up in some spots. I don't even know how that happened, but I'm sorry if it made some of the chapter confusing.

Stressed words and thoughts are in italics. During flashbacks stressed words and thoughts are in the regular font.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned LWD it would air on HBO, they let just about anything fly.

OOOOOOOO

Casey chewed her bottom lip nervously. She really didn't want to have to explain exactly why she was the "other woman," and not Emily. In fact, Emily would've never even gotten involved if it hadn't been for what happened next in the story.

"Well, see, I did something stupid."

Emily had to focus all her energy on maintaining a straight face and not responding to Casey's statement. Fifty bitchy comments were just itching to escape from her lips, but she somehow managed to remain silent. She stared at Casey, wordlessly urging her to elaborate.

"I broke up with Derek before you two started dating," Casey expanded.

'_Hmm . . . don't you have to be dating somebody to break up with them?'_ "Oh, you did? Why exactly did you do that?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level. Apparently she was going to have to drag the specifics out of Casey.

"The guilt got to be too much," Casey said simply, hoping that Emily would accept that.

Emily snorted.

'_Well, so much for that hope.'_

"You don't honestly expect me to believe that after God knows how many weeks of fooling around with Derek, you just woke up one day and decided that cheating on your boyfriend was something you couldn't do anymore?" she asked, incredulously.

Outwardly she may have been the picture of skepticism, but inwardly Emily could admit to herself that Casey's simple explanation wasn't too farfetched. She remembered Casey's inability to deal with lies and guilt when they were teenagers, so Casey's claim about being unable to bear the guilt may very well have been at least partially true. But her old friend was crazy if she thought Emily was going to let her leave it at that. And, besides, the way Casey couldn't quite meet her eyes was leading her to think that there was a little more to the story than that.

"Something sent you over the edge." It was more a statement of fact than a question.

Casey winced.

"What was it?" Emily demanded, voice hard.

Ah, the jig was up.

"Do you remember that ring Sam gave me right before school started our senior year?" she asked suddenly.

Emily laughed outright. She couldn't forget that ring if she wanted to—it looked like it belonged on the pinky of a mafia member.

"Vaguely," she responded, through her giggles.

Casey tried to look unaffected; she couldn't begrudge Emily her laughter. Even a blind man would've been able to see that the ring had been beyond hideous.

"Do you still have it?" Her face was straight, but there was mischief in her voice.

"I lost it," she said, playing along; "remember when we tore my room apart looking for it?" It had been too bad when she had accidentally lost it—yup, accidentally, on purpose.

They shared a smile then. In actuality, the day she "lost" the ring, they had listened to the radio and painted their toenails while they thought of a suitable lie to feed Sam. It just wouldn't have done to tell him that they had tossed the ring down a sewer on their way home from school.

After a moment, Emily's smile abruptly fell—it was as if she had suddenly remembered that she wasn't supposed to like Casey anymore.

Casey sighed; she should've known their camaraderie wouldn't last. _'Might as well get back to business.'_ "Well, Sam giving me that ring was the beginning of the end for me and Derek."

"Not quite," Emily mumbled.

Casey had the grace to blush, but she chose not to respond and instead delved into her story.

"_Alright, Sammy," Casey began, once she had made herself comfortable on his bed, "what was so important that I had to stop what I was doing and rush over here?"_

_Sam looked nervous and unsure, and for a split second Casey hoped that he had called her over to his house so that he could break up with her. But her want for that wish was gone so quickly that she began to wonder if that was what she truly desired. _

_She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. Her head and heart were a mess of mixed emotions; some days all she wanted was to feel Derek's strong arms around her waist while he teased her, and there were other times, like at school, where she was content being attached to Sam's hip. And what was making her feel the most confused was that she honestly couldn't figure out if she really liked Sam, or if she just really liked having a steady boyfriend. _

_She didn't know what she and Derek were, but she did know that they were anything but steady. They made out, then fought. They argued, then they made out. They played Horse, then they fought, and then made out. They got along sometimes too, but the fighting had never come close to being over for good. The only thing that was consistent in their relationship was that they were attracted to each other. _

"_Casey," Sam spoke, breaking into her thoughts. "Did you hear anything I said?" he asked, with an indulgent smile._

'Oh, well, so much for him breaking up with me.'

"_Sorry," she said, sheepishly, "I was just thinking about us." That was the truth, more or less anyway. _

_His smile widened, if that was possible. _

"_Well, I've been thinking about us too." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "You're like the perfect girlfriend," his words were rushed and he blushed a little as he said them. "And I, well, I just wanted to get you something to show you how much you mean to me." He handed her the box._

_He was eyeing her encouragingly, so Casey took a deep breath and flipped open the box._

"_Yikes!" She couldn't stop her initial reaction from rolling off her tongue. The ring was gold, heavy, shiny, expensive looking, and it was the single ugliest thing Casey had ever seen in her life. She would've rather had something that came out of a gumball machine—actually it did look like it had come out of a gumball machine, just a high priced gumball machine._

_Sam's face fell. "You don't like it?" He asked glumly. _

_He looked so down, that Casey brushed away her repulsion, put on a bright smile and slid the ring on her right hand's ring finger. _

"_I love it," she assured him "I just meant, 'yikes' this looks expensive." It did look expensive, which was just proof that money couldn't always prevent tackiness. _

"_Oh." He bucked up, happy once again. "I had to work hard for the money, but you're totally worth it."_

'That's why he had picked up all those extra hours at work?' _Casey hadn't seen too much of Sam for the past month, which had given her more time to spend with Derek. Now she felt sick about it—while her boyfriend had been scrimping and saving to buy her a present, she had been taking a roll in the hay with his best friend. Great. She felt like throwing up. _

"_Sam, I don't know if I can accept this." _'Without feeling like the world's biggest bitch,' she added silently.

_Sam shook his head at her, a smaller version of his earlier smile playing on his lips. "You just don't know how special you are, do you?"_

'Please, God, don't let him wax poetic about my virtues. I don't want him to be struck by lightening on my account.'

_He knelt on the floor in front of her and gathered her hands in his own. "You don't know what it's like to be Derek Venturi's best friend. There are girls, you may not believe it, but there are some girls who would only date me because I could bring them closer to Derek."_

_Oh, she could believe it alright._

"_I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't blame Derek for any of that. I know that he would never hit on a girl I liked; he tries to act all cool and stuff, but we're buddies and he knows that there are some lines you can't cross."_

'Maybe he knew once upon a time.'

_Sam shook his head, ruefully. "Am I making any sense?"_

"_No; not really," she laughed lightly._ 'You're making perfect sense.'

"_I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're not like the rest of them. I know that you aren't dating me so that you can get closer to Derek; you've never given me any reason to doubt your loyalty." He gave her hands an affectionate squeeze. "You don't know how good its felt these past couple of years, knowing I had a girl I could trust."_

_He had been hurt in the past—the old pain was clear in his eyes—and here she was hurting him now, and he didn't even know it. In fact, she was worse than his previous girlfriends because none of them had been successful at attaining Derek's affection, but she had. She had to tell Sam the truth, now. _

"_Sam, I—_

_But he silenced her with a gesture, apparently he wasn't finished._

"_And do you want to know why I really got you that ring?"_

'No. And please don't tell me.'

"_Just for being you; you're perfect." His voice was thick and raw with emotion. "I love you."_

_He gathered her into his arms then, and she wept silently against his shoulder. Sam mistook them for tears of joy, but this was anything but a joyous occasion. _

_Sam wasn't known for declarations of love or impromptu gifts, but apparently that's how much he cared for her—enough that he was willing to step out of his comfort zone and lay himself bare. She couldn't break up with him after that. What excuse could she possibly give? Casey wasn't sure that she would be able to deny it if he asked her flat out if there was somebody else. _

_As she sobbed into the crook of his neck, she knew what she had to do. Things had just gotten a little less messy . . . or messier, depending on how she looked at it._

_OOOO_

_When Casey dragged herself into Derek's bedroom a couple of hours later, she was anything but enthusiastic about what she was about to do. She may not have known which guy she belonged with or who she wanted more, but she did know that she didn't want to lose Derek just yet. Casey was realistic, she had kind of always figured that they wouldn't be able to keep their odd little relationship going forever—too many complications—but she hadn't thought her hand would be forced so soon._

_She had spent the entire walk back to her house trying to convince herself that she had made the right choice. But it still didn't make her situation any easier. And, the genuine grin Derek gave her when he noticed her in the doorway didn't help matters either._

"_Close the door," he suggested, slyly._

_She acquiesced, knowing full well that he was going to be disappointed. _

"_We need to talk, Derek," she said, running a frustrated hand through her hair._

"_Whoa," Derek exclaimed, catching sight of her ring. "Where did you get the eyesore?" He asked, while making his way over to her. _

"_Shut-up, Derek." Her tone was flat, drained. _

"_Aww, did Sammy boy get that for you?" His tone may have been mocking, but she could see an angry glint in his eye. "He must've had to put up a good fight to get Mr. T to part with that ring."_

"_Derek, this is serious."_

"_You're right," he lifted her hand and examined the ring, "this is seriously ugly."_

_She pulled away from him and placed both hands on her hips. "Stop joking. Do you know what this means?" _

"_That Sam's mad at you," he guessed. But when she leveled him with an icy stare he held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, that was my last one; I'm done. Now, tell me why you look so morose." _

_Her brows lifted faintly. _

"_Word of the day calendar," he said, by way of explanation. _

"_Oh." She shrugged. "Well—_

"_I know what'll make you feel better," he said suddenly, interrupting her, before attaching his lips to her own. _

_He was a great kisser, and it would've been so easy to let herself get caught up in the moment, but her conscience was weighing too heavy on her head and her hand. She had to end it._

_Pushing him away rather roughly, she crossed the room and took a seat on his bed. He gave her a confused look, but nonetheless joined her when she patted the spot next to her. _

"_Okaay, so what's up?"_

_Casey took a deep breath. "Sam's in love with me," she said bluntly._

_Derek flinched, and she could see why—they hardly ever discussed her relationship with Sam in any detail. It was like this taboo subject that they had both silently agreed to never bring up. Sure, Derek would make little joking comments here and there, like he had about the ring, but they never went any deeper than that. _

"_And that's news to me, why?" His voice was cool and his annoyance was apparent._

"_No, you don't understand." She shook her head. "He is _really_ in love with me; it's like he's got me up on some pedestal or something." _

_He leered at her. "Well, if only he knew."_

"_Derek!" _

_His anger was more evident now. "Well, what do you want me to say? Really, what do you expect me to say to that?" He snapped._

_She sighed heavily, knowing that her next words were not going to go over so well. "I want you to say that you understand, when I tell you that we have to stop seeing each other, umm, uh . . . socially."_

"_What?" He exploded. "You're ending things- why?"_

"_Did you not just hear anything I said?" she bit out, apparently forgetting that she had planned to deliver the blow as gently as possible. _

_Derek rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I got it- Sam's really in love with you," he mocked. "But you knew that when we first hooked up—he's been following you around like a puppy since we were sophomores. What's changed now?"_

_Casey's head shook back and forth in denial. "I _thought_ I knew how he felt, but if you could've heard the way he was talking," she broke off mid-sentence. "I just can't keep cheating on him," she said finally. "And I can't break up with him either," she said, answering what she expected to be Derek's next question. "He wouldn't take me seriously; we break up all the time, but we always get back together. Why would he expect this time to be any different?"_

"_He would _know _it was different when you never went back to him." He sounded exasperated._

"_Me ending things with Sam just isn't an option," she said, waving him off. _

_It was _so_ an option, it was the perfect option, but it just wasn't an option she was willing to choose. There had been other emotions in Sam's eyes besides old pain and new love; his eyes had been twin pools of trust. It had been so obvious that he trusted her completely. And that ring, that ring had been not only a symbol of love, but a symbol of trust too. How could she wear it and continue to betray that trust? And how could she end things with him without disregarding his love for her more than she already had? Actually, maybe… ending it wasn't an option at all. _

"_So, what, that's it?" Derek asked, breaking into her thoughts, as he removed himself from the bed. "You're just declaring us over?"_

_She just eyed him sadly. His display of emotion was unexpected, to say the least. Casey knew he was a human with feelings, but where was the toughness? Where was the aloofness? She had been counting on that to make this situation a little less awkward, but clearly she was not going to get off that easily. _

"_Derek, I'm sorry, but—_

_He scoffed. "Save it. In fact, why don't you just leave."_

'At least he sounds more like himself.'

_She stood up, but made another attempt to explain. "I just—_

"_Get out!" He yelled, and Casey could've sworn that the room shook from the force of it._

_He was pissed. So pissed, that she didn't think twice about following his command._

_And, just like that, she was out of his room. And they were over._

"Or so you thought." Emily was almost tempted to feel charitable towards Casey—she had _tried_ to do the honorable thing by ending her affair—but how long had her self-imposed break from Derek actually lasted?

"Or so I thought," Casey repeated in agreement.

They sat in companionable silence for a moment until Emily's curiosity got the better of her.

"So, was that the stupid thing you did?"

Casey began fidgeting nervously. "Well, it was and it wasn't. I never should've accepted that ring in the first place; instead I should have sucked it up and broken up with Sam. At the very least I should have suggested that we stopped being exclusive." She exhaled loudly. "But I did something else stupid too. You see, Derek and I didn't speak to each other for a week after our initial separation, but he did reach out to me one day."

"And," Emily prompted.

"And, well, that conversation was less than pleasant."

**TBC . . .**

**A/N:** I wanted to keep going and have Derek's and Casey's conversation included in this part, but writing this chapter has been killing me softly. It shouldn't have taken me this long to update because I have been working on this chapter _forever, _but this part was really hard for me to write. I don't even particularly like it, but let me know what you think.

**Reviews Are Always Welcome! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Sorry about the delay, but between school and work I just didn't have the time. Flashbacks are in italics, when the font is normal thoughts are in italics.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

"So, like I said—

Casey broke off abruptly when she noticed their neglected waitress pretending to sweep the area surrounding their booth. Catching Emily's attention, she signaled to the waitress. Personally, Casey was amused by the young girl's tactics, but she wasn't sure if Emily was of the same opinion.

Emily merely shrugged when she took sight of the girl. Their waitress was college age, pretty, and seemed to be bored out of her mind. Business had started to wind down about an hour earlier, so it was no surprise to Emily that the girl had been using her down time to listen to their conversation. What else did she have to do? And, besides, Emily could admit to herself that during her younger, nosier days she would have been the main one in the restaurant listening shamelessly, so who was she to pass judgment.

"This is gonna seem weird, but would you mind if I invited her over?" Casey asked nervously. "She looks bored, and lonely."

"Why would I care?" Emily asked, shrugging again. "It's you who I'd think would mind—the story doesn't make _me_ look like a slut."

Casey gasped, and Emily regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of her mouth. She hadn't even meant to say anything bitchy, but it was like she just couldn't help herself when it came to Casey.

"I am sorry about that," her voice was stony, but sincere.

"So much for us having made any progress," Casey mumbled.

Emily's eyes flashed. "That's not fair. We have made progress"—Casey's eyes widened at this, but Emily didn't even notice—"but you can't expect me to turn off Lord knows how many years of hate in two afternoons."

"But you admit that we have made progress." She was almost smiling.

Emily blew out an irritated breath. "You're totally missing the point. All I meant was"—she stopped short; she refused to get into this now. "Never mind. Call over the waitress, don't call her over, just do something so we can get on with the story."

"Fine," Casey conceded, holding up her hands in defeat. Inwardly, however, she was about to burst—she could see that she was wearing Emily down. She just hoped that the parts of the story to come wouldn't undo what progress she had already made.

"Hey," Casey called out to the waitress. "Come here a second."

The girl turned bright red, but walked over to their table, head bent in embarrassment. "Did you guys need refills?" she asked, trying not to glance at their practically full glasses.

"No, we're fine," Emily responded, trying not to smile.

"What's your name hun?"

"Mya," she mumbled, shyly.

"Well, Mya, I know this might come out odd, and I don't want you to think we're like creepy old women or something, but—

"Do you want to join us? That way you won't have to strain yourself to listen." Emily saw no reason to beat around the bush.

"Miss, I am so sorry, I—

"Calm down, Mya. First off, you don't have to 'miss' us—I'm Emily"—she pointed to Casey-"and that's Casey." Emily wasn't sure why she was telling the girl their names; with the way Mya had been eavesdropping she had to know who they were. "And, secondly, we're serious. If you don't think you'll get in trouble with your boss, pop a squat and listen comfortably." Emily didn't really like people knowing her business, but the girl was going to listen whether they gave her permission or not, so she figured Mya might as well sit with them.

"Who Tommy?" She popped her gum, perking up a bit as she pointed to the manager who was glancing at her from behind the counter. "Tommy's cool, we're cousins, so he pretty much let's me do whatever, as long as I'm not bothering anybody."

"Well, okay then. Sit down"—Casey patted the spot next to her. "I'm not sure how up to speed you are, but I was just about to tell Emily—

"You were gonna tell her about the conversation you and Derek had," she supplied eagerly.

Casey and Emily shared a look, but Casey responded, "That's right."

_Casey's back was turned as she organized last year's homework and listened to her ipod, so she didn't see or hear Derek slip into her room. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she just about jumped out of her skin._

"_Jesus, Derek," she said, spinning around and catching sight of the culprit. "Thanks for taking ten years off of my life."_

_When he remained silent choosing instead to simply stare at her, she blushed a little. Casey had assumed that his presence in her room meant that he was willing to speak to her again, but apparently she was wrong. That thought made her even sadder than she already was; it had been seven long days since they had exchanged words, and Casey missed him more than she cared to admit. _

"_So, umm… did you want something?" she asked, anxiously. _

"_I get it."_

"_Excuse me?" Casey's brows crinkled. She was completely lost. _

"_I get why you're doing this," he said, resolutely. _

_Casey started to smile—she wanted nothing more than for him to understand why she had to call things off, if he did maybe they could at least become friends again—but something about the look in his eyes told her that he didn't understand at all. _

_Derek's eyes rolled at her look of confusion. "I've seen how you are with Sam, you crave drama, and you're always trying to test him to see how much he cares about you." _

"_W-what?!" she sputtered indignantly. But Derek held up a hand to ward off her ranting before she could get started._

"_I understand that this was your way of testing me." He sounded a little bitter and put out, but he was trying to appear unaffected. "That's why I'm here now. I care about you Casey. So"—he sighed, looking a little happier now that the emotional stuff was out of the way—"did I pass?" he asked, reaching for her._

_She stepped away before he could pull her into an embrace, and it literally took all of her willpower not to slug him. She didn't know what pissed her off more, the fact that he seemed to think she was a drama queen or the implication that he thought she was callous enough to play with his feelings like that. _

"_God!" she growled. "This isn't some stupid test; I was serious when I said we had to end things."_

_Derek wasn't unmoved by her display. "Casey," he began, voice so chilly that she had to resist the urge to shiver, "there is only so much of this game playing that I'm willing to take," he warned. "In fact, if you were anyone else I wouldn't be doing this much."_

"_Don't I feel special," she responded, sarcastically. _

"_You should feel special!" His voice wasn't chilly anymore, quite the contrary actually; Casey could tell it was taking everything in him not to yell. "There are hundreds of girls in our school and any one of them would kill to be in your shoes right now." _

_Casey had a jealous nature—she had come to terms with that a while ago—but it was a very particular jealous nature. She couldn't have cared less about Sam's old girlfriends or the girls in school who had no problem openly hitting on him now, but it was different with Derek. When they were together she had always worried about his other women. Casey knew that he had other girls, and even though it made her a hypocrite, she couldn't stand the thought of him being with anyone else. She may not have known how she felt about him, but she knew how she felt about him seeing other people. She hated it. And she hated all the girls who had come before her, and would come after her. And at that moment, she hated him for making her painfully aware of just how replaceable she was. _

_True as it might have been, he had definitely said the wrong thing._

"_Are you trying to piss me off?" She honestly couldn't tell if his last comment was supposed to make her want to throw herself in his arms, or slap him._

_For a moment he looked taken aback, but he recovered quickly. "No," he drew the word out. "I'm here, against my better judgment I might add, telling you how I feel and you're acting like it doesn't even matter." He folded his arms across his chest. "Are you trying to piss _me_ off?" _

"_No," she snapped. "See, I'm not the one throwing my harem in your face." _

"_What harem?" His voice was mockingly perplexed, and Casey's hand itched to slap the smirk off his face. _

"_Oh, that's real nice." She knew she wasn't popular—if it hadn't been for her position as a hockey player's girlfriend, Derek's sponsorship, and Emily's friendship, school would have been unbearable; as it was, it wasn't that pleasant—but Derek didn't have to say it like that._

"_I tried being nice, but nice doesn't work with you!" _

_He had no problem yelling now, and Casey gave a silent prayer of thanks that the parents were already asleep. _

"_I have been going out of my way for I don't know how many weeks, being nice to you, showing you that I care, and it doesn't seem to have made any impact on you. You know," he gave a hollow laugh, "for someone who claims to be so concerned about Sam's feelings, you sure don't seem to have any problem acting like a cold hearted bitch when it comes to me." _

_If she had been feeling reasonable, or even charitable, she would have been able to see that he had a valid point. But that wasn't the case; actually she was feeling very unreasonable—being in a heated argument kind of had a way of doing that to a person. And, the "cold hearted bitch" comment had hurt. Bad. In fact, since she had chosen to be with Sam, they had both been hurting each other so badly that Casey didn't see how they could ever find their way back to each other, even if they wanted to. _

"_If you think I'm a cold hearted bitch, then why do you want me?" she fired back. Her grimace was almost instant; she really hadn't wanted to say that. It wasn't like his answer would make a difference. It was too late to go back now, she had chosen to stay with Sam and she was resolved to stick with that choice, even if it did hurt like hell. _

"_Humph"—he rubbed his hand over his eyes, tiredly—"I'm beginning to wonder why myself. You're _so_ much work, and there's been nothing even resembling a payoff," he said, sounding frustrated._

_Casey bristled at that. _'Just what sort of "payoff" was he expecting?'_ Her anger was clouding her judgment; she couldn't see that the only payoff he wanted was her affection. _

"_Then maybe you should find someone more rewarding," she suggested, snidely. _

_Derek's eyes flickered then, and she actually saw it go: in an instant the last traces of affection for her were gone from his gaze. Those eight words, spoken so sarcastically, so flippantly, were enough to push him over the edge. The expression finally made sense—how _easy_ it was to actually break the camel's back. _

_She had been wrong the other day; this was the day they were truly over. _

"_Maybe I will." He rubbed his hands together, seemingly wiping them of the mess that was Casey. "I don't need this."_

'This, or me?'

_His expression was oddly speculative for a moment, and then he continued speaking. "Maybe I'll find someone nice and _uncomplicated_"—he heavily emphasized the last word._

"_You do that." Her voice had been completely level, but inside she was dying. His gaggle of girls was one thing, but the idea of him being in a monogamous relationship was enough to reduce her to tears._

"_Oh, don't worry, I will," he assured her, sounding chipper. Then he gave her a smirk and turned to leave, his gait so relaxed, that anyone watching him at the moment would've never guessed that he had lain his heart on the line—and been rejected—only minutes earlier. _

"_Hey, Case, one more thing," he said, turning back to face her again. _

_She blinked at the shortening of her name; he hardly ever called her that these days. _'I guess I'm not his princess anymore,' she thought sadly.

"_You will regret this." In zero to sixty, his voice had gone from annoyingly happy to frighteningly severe, and any hint of a smirk was missing from his face. "You'll see your mistake, and when you do it will be too late. There won't be another chance." _

_After delivering that last blow he was gone, and Casey was left alone with her thoughts. She had known they were done for good, but it still hurt like hell to hear him say it._

"Jeez," Mya said, blowing out a breath. "You and this Derek guy were… you were just so… jeez," she repeated, unable to even respond to what she'd just heard.

Emily felt sick, and not because that story had made her even more upset with Casey, but because it hadn't. She could see Casey's point—she understood why she had acted the way she had. When Emily had gone out with Derek, even though he had appeared completely faithful, she still had developed a tiny complex about his legion of admirers. Casey's defenses popping up when faced with the reality that she was easily replaceable was entirely understandable. But Emily didn't want to understand Casey. And she certainly didn't want to feel bad for Derek for getting his heart broken. Especially when—

"Wait- so was I the more rewarding choice?" she asked finally putting two and two together. _'Of course I was.'_ "Just what was the length of time between you and Derek's 'real'"—she used air quotes—"breakup, and him asking me over that day we hung out and watched a movie?" Emily hoped that it was at least a reasonable amount of time, but she was sure that her hope would be in vain.

"A couple of days," Casey mumbled. She couldn't even meet Emily's eyes, and Mya was tactfully looking anywhere but at the two of them.

Emily gasped_. 'A couple of days,' she thought, 'maybe I gave Derek too much credit.' _

"Why me?" Her voice was desperate, and Casey's heart ached for her. "Was it because I was your friend and he knew that would hurt you even more?"

Personally, that's exactly what Casey suspected, but there was no way she was going to say that. "I honestly don't know for sure"—that was technically true. "That's something you'd have to ask Derek."

"Okay," Emily snapped. "Maybe this is something you can answer: were Derek and I ever really together?"

Mya and Casey both blinked at that.

"I don't um, I uh don't think I know what you mean," Casey responded, truly confused.

"Let me spell it out for you." Emily still felt sick, but now it was for an entirely different reason. "How long did you wait until you stole him back?"

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N:** Sorry about everyone being OOC, but it goes with the plot. Anyways, thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **During flashbacks, everything is in italics, except thoughts and stressed words. During times of regular font, thoughts and stressed words are in italics.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

"Umm, excuse me?"

"How long did you wait until you stole him back?" Emily repeated her question, pronouncing each word slowly.

Casey wanted to faint, slit her own throat, runaway—just do something, anything, that would make her answering Emily's question impossible. She had known when they started down this path that Emily would want to know how she came to be with Derek again, but she dreaded having to tell her. If Emily was pissed now, and Casey was quite sure that she was, then Casey didn't even want to be in the same room with her when she heard the details of her and Derek's reconciliation.

"I… well… see, I uh—

"Casey," Emily interrupted her stammers, "quit stalling and spit it out. I think I already know when you two got back together anyway."

"Really?" Casey heaved a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," Emily nodded, "it was when you two went off to college together, right?"

'_Apparently she doesn't know.'_

She shook her head. "No, uh not exactly."

"The week after graduation? You know, that time I thought I had caught him with Vicky," she elaborated. Her jaws had tightened considerably, but she was trying to hold on to her anger.

"You're warmer," Casey said, weakly.

"Prom?" Mya took a guess before Emily could. She had told herself: 'be seen and not heard.' But her curiosity had gotten the better of her. And besides, her guess was reasonable; prom nights were designed for hooking up.

Casey wished that it had been on their prom night, even that wouldn't have been as bad as—

"No more guessing games, Casey," Emily interrupted her thoughts, eyes blazing. "Just tell me when!"

_Casey didn't even know why she was there. She used to love dances—the old Casey lived for things like the winter formal. But now this just seemed like some horribly exhausting burden she was forced to endure. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be in Sam's arms. And she sure as hell didn't want to watch Derek hold Emily in his arms all night._

_Just then Derek dipped Emily and Casey almost threw up. _'This must be my punishment for cheating on Sam.'

_Suddenly, the music stopped and a voice called out from the stage, "Attention! Students may I have your attention."_

_Casey looked up to see the assistant principal, Ms. Kelly, wielding a microphone. _'Hmm, it must be time to announce the winners of the popularity contest,' she thought to herself.

"_It's time to announce our ice queen"—Casey's gaze shot to Emily's and they shared a silent laugh across the room –"and king," Ms. Kelly announced. "Let's start with the king. I know that this will come as no surprise"—she gave an airy laugh—"but your king is none other than Derek Venturi!" _

_Ms. Kelly started clapping rapidly and Casey once again felt the bile rise up in her throat—even the vice principal seemed to be in love with Derek. Ms. Kelly was quickly joined by the rest of the gym's occupants; honestly, the thunderous applause was enough to deafen a person._

_Derek didn't walk up to the stage, but sort of sauntered, like he owned the place; he was obviously enjoying himself. Casey wished she was a big enough person not to begrudge him his happiness, but she wasn't. She was miserable and, naturally, she wanted him to feel the same way. _

_Derek telling her he would never take her back had been one thing, and him casually dating Emily had been a hard pill to swallow too, but when he had asked Emily to be his girlfriend a week earlier a tiny part of Casey's heart had died. The only good thing about it was that he had the good grace not to ask her to go "steady" in front of Casey. She wouldn't have been able to bear that, and she shuttered to think of the type of scene she probably would have caused had he subjected her to it. _

_When Casey saw him grab the microphone, her eyes automatically rolled. _'Here we go.'

"_Thanks everybody. But, really, was there any other choice?" he asked, smirking._

'Could he be any more conceited?'_ she thought, but everyone around her was just eating it up. Even his opponents were laughing good naturedly. _

"_And now, Derek, if you'd please announce your queen," Ms. Kelly requested, handing him an envelope. _

"My_ queen is Emily Davis," he declared, matter-of-factly—_

'God, he's laying it on thick.'

_His words were met with a few barely audible catty remarks—nobody would dare disrespect his girlfriend loud enough for him to actually hear—and looks of disgust by some of his jealous groupies. This wasn't the first sign of hostility Casey had seen where Emily was concerned. In fact, since Emily had started going around with Derek people were either really nice to her, or downright bitchy, some people even fell into both categories. But for her part Emily seemed either not to notice or not to care. And even though Casey was jealous of her too, she was also really proud of the way her friend was handling herself. _

"—_but your queen is… Mindy Mitchell," he said, lazily. _

_Mindy squealed from her spot in the middle of the dance floor and ran, as ladylike as she could manage, to the stage and up the steps. She practically snatched her tiara from the vice principal's hands and eagerly handed it to Derek so he could crown her. Derek's jaw clenched and Casey could tell he was annoyed by the girl's hysterics, but he placed the ornament on her head anyway. _

"_Now if you two would take your place in the middle of the dance floor, we can commence with the traditional dance of the Ice King and Queen." She shooed them off stage._

_Derek and Mindy took their appointed positions and he loosely wrapped his arms around her as they waited on the music to pick back up. Once the music started, Derek and Mindy began swaying back and forth to the rhythm. But suddenly Derek motioned to the DJ and the music abruptly stopped. The crowd began to murmur at the interruption, and Mindy looked about ready to cry, until Derek whispered something in her ear. Pulling back, she looked up at him and smiled brightly—Lord only knows what he said to her—and went off in search of her date. _

_And that's when Derek sunk to a new low; Casey hadn't thought that even he was capable of such vindictiveness. _

_Walking over to Emily, Derek pulled her into his arms just as the music picked back up. Casey couldn't believe her ears: it was _their_ song. Well, not really, it wasn't like they had declared it "their song," but that's how she had always thought of it._

'How long has Derek been planning this?'

_There was no way the DJ just happened to have _that _song. The old movie theatre they went to, first as friends then as something more, had always shown the same three dated coming attractions and played one _very_ dated song, The Tymes' "So in Love." The first time they heard it Derek had claimed that the song made his ears bleed, but Casey had thought it was sweet and eventually, even though he wouldn't admit it, the song had grown on him too. She had assumed that nobody else they knew, including their parents, knew of the song, so she had always thought of it as hers and Derek's secret- like it belonged only to them. So while the other kids in the gym reacted to Derek and Emily dancing to that song with confusion, Casey reacted with tears. _

"_Aww, Casey," Sam said, tenderly, "You really are a sucker for romance, aren't you?" He brushed her tears away with the pads of his thumbs._

'I'm a sucker alright,' she agreed silently. 'I never should have given in to my conscience; I shouldn't be here with you.' _Frankly, she had been so wrapped up in thoughts of Derek, that she had forgot Sam was standing beside her. How sad is that?_

"_Come on, lets dance," he suggested, pulling her close. "This song isn't half bad." _

_The last thing she wanted to do was dance to The Tymes with Sam, but she didn't see any way around it. _

_Throughout their dance, she focused on Derek, hoping that if she caught his eye she might be able to make him feel at least a little guilty. And, eventually, as the song came to a close, their gazes did lock. But there was no guilt in his eyes. Quite the contrary actually, it was a look of pure triumph he sent her before winking and bending down to kiss Emily. For someone so against public displays of affection, Derek didn't have any problem shoving his tongue down Emily's throat in a room full of people. _

_When a sob escaped Casey's throat, Sam looked down at her in concern. "Are you okay?" _

"_No," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "I think… I'm having… I," she broke off, starting to hyperventilate. She needed to get out of there; she felt like her chest had just caved in. It was too much; it was all just too much. _

"_Hair crisis," she finally said, voice on the brink of panic. She knew it was a lame excuse, but she needed something that would make escape possible, and Sam couldn't follow her to the restroom. In fact, Casey didn't even give him a chance to question her, she just took off in a dead run, not caring that she was making a scene. _

_She made it to a restroom in record time, and as she leaned on the sink and broke down and cried, she was hit with such an intense wave of dejavu. This wasn't the first time she had cried over Derek in a women's restroom. But this time she wouldn't go seek him out; this time she knew she had really lost him for good. And that knowledge hurt, God, how it hurt. _

_Unexpectedly, Casey heard the restroom door swing open. She tried to make herself presentable; as far as anyone knew she didn't have any reason to be upset, and she really didn't want anyone questioning her about it. _

"_Casey," a voice called out tentatively, from behind her. She looked up and caught sight of Derek's reflection in the mirror. _'Of course,' she thought, bitterly, 'he's come to rub salt in my wounds.'

"_Jeez, Casey, I didn't mean to—_

"_Yes, you did," she accused, turning around to face him. Her red swollen eyes were blazing and her fists were clenched—she looked poised to do battle. "You wanted to hurt me, so congratulations, it worked," she said, venomously. _

_He didn't respond, and, really, what could he have said? They both knew she was right._

"_And do you know what else?" Casey didn't give him time to respond. "I'm sure you'll be ecstatic to know that I am miserable." She laughed mirthlessly. "Yup, you really had me pegged." He lifted his brows inquisitively, and she rolled her eyes in response. "Oh, come on, we both know that I regret ending things. Look around you"—she gestured wildly—"I just left my boyfriend in the middle of a dance floor so that I could go to a foul smelling restroom and cry over you."_

_To say that Derek looked surprised would've been an understatement. "I guess I didn't know that you cared," he said, lamely, after a long pause._

"_What?!" She asked incredulously. "Of course I care. I care about you. I care that a guy I used to hang out with all the time, now spends most of his time either ignoring me or trying to piss me off. And, I really care that a guy I'm probably half in love with just made out with my best friend in front of half the school." Casey's voice had gotten higher and more hysterical throughout her little speech, and Derek was looking at her as if she had two heads._

"_So there," she said, coming down from her adrenaline high a little, "now you know. And I hope you're happy," she practically flung the words at him, as her fist connected with his shoulder._

_After saying her piece and getting in a lick, Casey figured that she had better quit the restroom before she said anything else embarrassing. But she had barely taken two steps when Derek's hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her back._

"_Princess,"—his voice was soft, and despite her anger, Casey melted a little at the use of her nickname—"all I ever wanted was to know that you cared." _

"_Derek?" she questioned, unsure what he meant._

"_You can stay with Sam, you can date a hundred other guys—I don't care," his voice was rough, but wholly sincere. "All I needed to know was that you wanted me too. Any way you want us to work, I'm up for it; just let me have a little piece of you too."_

"_B-b-but you said," She was crying again, but this time out of hope, "that it would be too late—that I couldn't have another chance." She held her breath, as she waited for his response._

"_A hundred chances; as many chances as you need, as long as you always come back to me." He pulled her up against him then, and leaned down, pressing his lips against her own. _

"_Thank you," she murmured, clinging onto him as if he were a lifeline. And in some ways she supposed that he was. She had tried living without him, it didn't work._

"_So," Derek sighed, stepping back from her a little, "what are you going to do about Sam?" _

"_Derek you're the one I want, don't ever forget that," she assured him. "But Sam, he's just too clingy and attached. And a large part of that is my fault," she admitted, sighing. "But I'm afraid of how he'll take it if I end it"—she paused a moment—"It's just, if you could hear the way he talks about us"—she broke off abruptly. "I mean, can you understand that? Can you understand why I have to stay with him?" She hoped to God that he could; he had said that he'd take her anyway he could. _

"_I don't like it, but I understand." He gave her hand a squeeze._

"_And, um, what about Emily?" She hated herself for asking—for wanting him to do for her what she wouldn't do for him. _

_Derek smiled a little, probably at her obvious jealousy. "I wish I could, Casey, but I can't do that to Emily. I've been, for lack of a better word, 'courting' her so zealously that if I were to dump her out of nowhere"—he paused, and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I've made too much of a spectacle," he said, trying again. "What would people say about her?—they wouldn't think the problem was with me."_

_Casey was moved by his obvious concern for Emily, even if he didn't like _like_ the girl, he did seem to at least care about her feeling. She was actually a little surprised, Derek wasn't known for his gentleness and chivalry where the fairer sex was concerned. In fact, she and Emily were the only two girls Casey had ever seen him go out of his way to please—that dressing up/studying thing he did for Kendra, just wasn't in the same league in Casey's opinion. _

"_Its okay, Derek; I understand too. I know that it's gonna be hard," she grimaced, "but we'll manage, somehow."_

Emily was trying her damndest not to blink; she knew that if she did she would dissolve into tears. _'Chivalry my ass,' she thought angrily._ "He did make a spectacle out of our 'relationship'?" she used air quotes. "The type of stuff he would do: tossing me his jacket in the hallway, pushing me up against the lockers and kissing me, and that dance," she spat, fiercely. "That stupid scene he made at the formal, like we were the perfect couple or something. Well," she gave a self-deprecating laugh, "more fool me."

"Em, no, he wasn't trying to make a fool out of you. I swear, we both thought that, in some twisted way, we were doing the right thing," Casey said, desperate for Emily to understand.

"The right thing," she echoed. "Stealing my boyfriend of _one_ week was the _right_ thing?" Her voice had risen to a frenzied note. "Then, tell me, what on earth was the _wrong_ thing?"

"Mya,"—Emily turned her crazed, tear filled eyes to the waitress—"help me out here, what was the _right_ thing?"

'_Shiittt,' Mya thought to herself, 'she's crazy if she thinks I'm answering that.'_ "Oh, look," Mya glanced at her watch, "it's time for me to clean the toilets. Bye," she exclaimed, hurrying from the table. Sure, she hated to miss the drama, but Emily looked like she was gonna blow, and that was just a little too much drama for Mya.

"Emily, I am so sorry." Casey was close to tears herself; so much for progress.

Emily was full blown sobbing now. "Just s-s-stay away from me for a while," she said quietly, gathering her things.

"Em, please—

"I need some time, Casey, I need some time," she repeated sadly, rising from her seat. "Please don't call me anymore," was the last thing she said before scurrying out of the diner.

Casey rubbed her head in her hands and wept quietly; it was over.

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N: **Let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Flashbacks are in italics. The flashback is a little different in this chapter. Also, at one point Casey is going to be reading some notes that were passed between herself and Emily, what she wrote will be in _**bold italics**_ and what Emily wrote will be in _regular italics_. Thoughts are also in italics, except during the flashback.

**Disclaimer: **I own the night, but not LWD.

OOOOOOOO

"It's been a month, you really need to stop pouting," Derek said, as he lounged lazily against his bedroom door.

"I am not pouting," Casey replied, poking her bottom lip out even farther.

As much as he hated to see his wife so upset, Derek was really having a hard time finding much sympathy for her. Really, how could she have not seen this coming? There was a reason Derek had never tried to renew his friendship with Sam- some things were truly unforgivable. Honestly, Derek didn't have the slightest regret about choosing Casey, but that didn't mean that he wanted to rehash the past, he knew that in the end it would just make him miserable. And, now, because Casey was suffering from a case of 'the nostalgia blues,' everyone in their house had to suffer.

Ever since she had returned from her last meeting with Emily there had been a noticeable change in her behavior. She still went to work, and cooked, and cleaned, but it was like she was just going through the motions. Casey was so gloomy these days that it had Derek realizing just how much she had been looking forward to being close with Emily again.

Derek sighed. "Look, I hate to say I told you so, but—

"You didn't seem to mind saying it too much when I came home that night and told you what had happened," she interrupted, without even bothering to look up.

"That was in the heat of the moment," he said, dismissively.

"Yeah, well, so is this." She threw a pillow at his head.

"I'd complain, but that's the most enthusiasm you've shown about anything in weeks."

"Well, if I'm such a downer, why trouble yourself by hanging around me?" She had meant to sound harsh, but her trembling lips sort of ruined the effect.

Derek moved to the bed and sat beside her. "Come on, honey, don't cry. I know you're upset, but, really what did you think was going to happen?" he asked, as gently as possible.

"I don't know," she snapped, eyes narrowing defensively. "I knew Emily would be mad, but I really didn't expect her to just call the whole thing off. We weren't anywhere near being done," she said, despondently.

He didn't even hear her latter statement; he was still stuck on her earlier words. "You didn't expect her to call things off?" He sounded incredulous. "You're lucky she didn't slap you. Seriously, if Sam ever told me all the times, places, and ways he had kissed you, I'd probably kill him."

Casey shrugged away the arm that was around her shoulders, and turned accusing eyes on him. "You make it sound like I was bragging, or something. Which I totally wasn't—

"Whoa, whoa." He held up his hands. "I know you weren't bragging, hell, I even think Emily knows that, but that doesn't change the fact that hearing about our affair is obviously hurting her."

"I wasn't trying to hurt her. I was trying to make things better." _'Why can't anyone seem to get that?'_ Spending time with Emily had caused Casey to remember just how good of friends they had actually been. There had been times during their meetings, between the guilt ridden memories and defensive comments, when they had shared smiles and even a laugh or two, recapturing their old friendship hadn't felt like a fantasy anymore. But it sure did now.

"I know you weren't trying to hurt her, and I know you only wanted to make things better." He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "But maybe things are as good as they're gonna get. We've got a great family, and from what you've told me, Emily's family isn't half bad either"—he smiled, sloppily—"maybe we should all just leave well enough alone," he reasoned.

Casey's smile was sad, but at least it was there. "When did you become the practical one?"

"Around the same time you became the overly dramatic one, so"—he pretended to think about it—"I guess, it's been since we were about sixteen," he said, with mock seriousness. "Give or take a year."

"I'm not overly dramatic, I'm just… expressive."

"Yup, _very_ expressive," he agreed.

"And right now you're being very _annoying_," she shot back.

"Oh, Princess, you wound me." He clutched his chest theatrically.

She pulled a face at him. "Keep that up, and I really will wound you," she threatened, brandishing her book as if it were a weapon.

"What are you gonna do, read me to death?" He asked, smirking.

"That's an idea." She rubbed her chin, thoughtfully. "Or, I could just bludgeon you to death with it," she said, dryly. Lord knows the Harry Potter books were thick enough to do just that.

"Okay, okay, I can take a hint." He rose from the bed, but not before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I've gotta leave for club in a minute anyway."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Club," if one could even call it that, was comprised of only Derek and two of his buddies, and all they did during their meetings was watch sports and tell dirty jokes.

He grabbed his keys and slipped on "number two"—that's what he called the leather jacket Casey bought him when his other one had bit the dust.

"I'll be back soon," he said, heading for the door. "Try to cheer up," he called as an afterthought, from the stairs.

She wished she could cheer up; it wasn't like she enjoyed being in a perpetual funky mood. But she knew she wouldn't be able to until she spoke with Emily, or at least knew exactly what her old friend was thinking. Emily hadn't said she never wanted to speak to Casey again, she had only asked for time.

She huffed, and sat her book down on her bedside table. She thought a moment before opening one of the drawers and pulling out an object she had been avoiding for years- a photo album. As a graduation gift, Casey had comprised a scrapbook chronicling her friendship with Emily, and given it to her. And after the whole 'rehearsal dinner debacle' it had appeared at Derek's apartment one day along with the rest of the mail. It contained pictures of Casey and Emily together, pictures of both the girls with their respective boyfriends, and even a few of them with Marti and Dimi from one evening when they had babysat the terrible twosome, but a lot of the items in the album weren't even pictures, they were notes that the two girls had passed in class. Casey couldn't help but smile as she read some of them:

_Casey, don't laugh, but I think Sheldon Schlepper's kinda cute._

_**And I think you need glasses.**_

Some of them made her scowl:

_I can't believe Derek put pudding in all your shoes._

_**Please, that's not even the worst thing he's done this week.**_

'Hmm, I never did get him back for that.'

And some of them made her feel even worse:

_**Hey, I heard about what you said to Mindy, you didn't have to do that. But thanks, she's… Nevermind. Thanks.**_

_No 'thanks' is needed, it was so my pleasure. Oh, it's okay to say it, she's… a BITCH!_

_**Ha-ha **_

Casey swiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. This had been a bad idea. "No more trips down memory lane for me," she said, closing the album with a thud.

"How 'bout just one more," Nathan said, dangling his car keys in his hand while he lounged against the doorframe.

Casey blinked at her son, momentarily disorientated; sometimes even she forgot how much he looked like Derek.

"What do you mean, Nate?"

"I know you're still upset over this Emily chick—

"She's an adult, so you'll refer to her as Ms. Shepherd. And, how did you know I'm upset?"

"I heard you and dad talking, and add that to the fact that I'm not blind," he explained. "It's so obvious when you're upset, you get all pouty."

"Argh," she growled, "I do not pout."

"You so pout, but that's beside the point," he said, dismissively. "I've been thinking, and I figure that the only way to shake you of this 'Emily guilt' is if you two become friends again. And you two can't become friends if you're not speaking, right?"

"Right," she said, slowly.

"And she doesn't want you to call, so that leaves only one option: road trip," he said enthusiastically. "Come on," he continued, earnestly, "dad won't be back for hours and Shawn's over Kenny's house. I lifted her number from your phone"—he shot his mom an apologetic look—"and did a reverse lookup on the web, so now I know where she lives. It'll be a piece of cake."

Casey was silent for a long moment, and then said, simply, "Okay."

Tossing her legs over the side of her bed, she bent down and began putting on some shoes.

"'Okay'?" he echoed.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" she asked, without glancing up from her sneaker's laces.

"Why?" _'Hmm, I don't know. Maybe because my mother, who plans everything out to the tiniest detail, just agreed to hop in my undependable car and go visit a woman who hates her, and on a school night, nonetheless.'_ "Oh, no reason," he said, sarcastically.

Standing up, she pulled on a sweatshirt. Casey walked over to Nate and pinched his cheek. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to look a gift adventurous mother in the mouth?" When he continued to look surprised, she gave a laugh. "Relax. You done good, kid."

OOOOOOOO

Emily heard a knock at the door and heaved a sigh of relief. _'Maybe that's them,' she thought, hopefully_. Tony and Lauren had went to run some errands hours ago, and had yet to return; Emily had started to worry—they usually called if they were going to be late, but they hadn't. She did wonder why her children would be knocking when they both had a set of house keys, but she chalked it up to the off chance that they had both forgotten to take their keys with them.

When Emily opened the door, she almost fainted when she saw who was on the other side.

"Casey, what are you… how did …" she shook her head to clear her thoughts, "why are you here?" Emily asked. She didn't even sound harsh, just very, _very_ confused.

It wasn't a warm welcoming, but since Emily hadn't slammed the door in her face, Casey figured she was doing pretty well.

"Emily, I know I should've called, but you said not to, and," she paused, shrugging, "I missed you, and well we were almost there, but—

"Casey," Emily cut in, interrupting her rushed explanation for being there. "You're getting soaked; come inside."

"Really?" she asked, surprised at the invitation.

"Sure, why not?" Emily gave a shrug of her own. "I can yell at you just as well in a warm house, as I can in the rain."

"Oh."

"Relax. I was joking," she said, leading Casey into the living room. But, Emily couldn't help but wonder if her words were actually true—'_Had I been joking?'_ Her words had been spoken more out of reflex than anything else, but having said them, she couldn't shake the feeling that they probably were the truth. She didn't feel like yelling at Casey, she wasn't even that upset about the 'dance incident' anymore.

As Casey discarded her soaked sweatshirt and went to stand by the heating vent that Emily had gestured to, she couldn't help but try to assuage her curiosity.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why aren't you more pissed at me?" she asked bluntly. "I'm not complaining or anything," she hastened to add, "but I can't help but notice how not upset you seem."

"Umm, I am still pissed at you." When Casey sent her a perplexed look she elaborated, "You had a multiple year long affair with my man, I'm gonna probably be mad at you for a long time. However, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter when the affair started… I guess."

Casey was still trying to grasp what she was hearing. "So… you're still mad at me, but you're not any madder than you were before I told you what happened at Winter Formal?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she replied, taking a seat on the couch.

"Really, cause you were pretty upset when I told you," Casey recalled. "What changed your mind?"

"Sam," she replied, simply.

_Emily was washing dishes; in fact, she was washing dishes with a vengeance. She had already broken two glasses, somehow bent a fork to the point of deformity, and if she continued scrubbing it the way she was, the pattern was going to come right off the plate she was holding._

"_What did that plate ever to do you?" _

_The sudden sound of Sam's voice surprised her so much that she dropped the plate, sending it crashing to the floor. _

"_Shit! You scared the mess out of me," she said, glancing over at her husband who was perched on the table. "I thought I was alone."_

_Sam grabbed the broom from its corner, before Emily could, and started sweeping up the now jagged pieces of porcelain. _

"_Sorry. But I just had to come see it for myself."_

"_See what?"_

"_The world's longest tantrum," he responded, earning himself a sharp look. "Lauren called and told me not to take your behavior on our last few dates personal, because you were mad at Casey, not me."_

"_Oh, she did?" Emily was mentally kicking herself; she regretted having ever told Lauren what happened with Casey. Who knew the girl couldn't hold water? _

"_Yeah, she did. Our conversation was actually very enlightening." _

'I'm sure it was.'

"_She told me all about the Winter Formal debacle." He paused a moment. "She also told me how you've been pouting about if for three weeks now."_

_Emily's jaw flexed as she tried to keep her anger in check, she didn't want to take her frustrations out on Sam. "I'm not pouting, and I have not been throwing a tantrum," she assured him._

"_So you're just breaking dishes for the hell of it?"_

_She shrugged. "Maybe I'm part Greek."_

"_Or, maybe, it's time for you to break out of this funky mood Casey put you in," he countered._

"_Excuse me," her eyes narrowed to the point of slits, "correct me if I'm wrong, but you were in a Casey induced 'funky mood' for ninety percent of our marriage, so please allow me to be in one for three weeks." –So much for not taking out her frustrations on Sam._

_Sam didn't take the bait, he wasn't there to argue, instead he asked, "I don't get it, why are you so mad?"_

_Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and for a moment she just stared at him incredulously. "You're kidding right? She betrayed me, my boyfriend cheated on me—they both betrayed us."_

_He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Yeah, but we both already knew that, we've known for years, so why are you so mad now?"_

"_I've always been mad," she retorted._

"_Okay," he conceded, "but not like this."_

"_You wanna know why I'm so mad?" She was desperately trying to control the volume of her voice. "I'm upset, because she only waited one week. One little week. Seven days. I mean, at least part of yours and Casey's relationship was real, but everything I had with Derek—everything I thought I had—none of it was real." Her voice was bitter and hurt, and Sam wanted to embrace her, but he wasn't sure if he should. "Derek was mine for seven days, and—_

"_Why does it matter?"_

"_What?!"_

"_You're acting like there's some king of 'cheating protocol' that Casey and Derek disregarded. There's no grace period, no 'right time,' cheating is cheating. Does it really matter when they started messing around?" He couldn't seem to understand Emily's reasoning. Derek could have got together with Casey the day after they started going out and Sam still would've been just as mad as he would've been if Derek had waited until they were in college to start up with Casey._

_She nodded. "Yes, it matters to me; she didn't even wait a respectable amount of time." When Sam snickered, she huffed and said, "Okay, that sounds a little stupid, but you know what I meant."_

"_A lot stupid," he corrected, "it sounds a lot stupid."_

"_So, a lot stupid," she grudgingly admitted. "But it just hurt to know that it was so soon."_

"_That's understandable," he said, voice gentle, as he walked over and wrapped her loosely in his arms. "And you can be hurt and angry, but be hurt and angry that they cheated, don't be mad because of some skewed belief that they didn't wait an appropriate amount of time to have an affair." _

"_Argh," she growled into the crook of his neck, "when did you become the voice of reason where Derek and Casey were concerned?"_

"_Hmm… probably when you and Casey started hanging out together again, so I guess it was about the same time hell froze over." _

"_Ha ha," Emily said, dryly. _

"_Sorry, I couldn't resist," he apologized. "But, seriously, will you at least try not to let it bother you so much? We can try together."_

_Emily scrunched up her nose and huffed a little, but replied with a solid, "Okay."_

"So…

"So, like I said earlier, I'm still angry that you and Derek cheated, but I don't hold how quickly you two got back together against you," Emily explained.

"Okay, well… thanks." Casey wasn't sure how exactly to respond to that.

"I answered your questions, so maybe now you can answer a couple of mine." Casey gestured for her to continue. "How did you get my address? I know for a fact that my correct address doesn't pop up on zaba, I've searched for myself before."

Casey hadn't been expecting that question, but she answered readily. "My son, Nathan, used your phone number to find your address on the web. Coming to see you was actually his idea, he drove me down here."

"He did? Wait- where is he?"

"In the car," Casey said, as if it was obvious.

Emily bit the inside of her jaw, hating what she was about to say. She knew she had to invite Nathan in, it was rainy, dark, and cold, and there was no reason he should have to wait in the car. But she wanted to see that kid about as much as she wanted a root canal. She didn't know how she was going to handle being in the presence of Derek's and Casey's kid, it would be so weird. But she bit the bullet anyway.

"Go get him, Casey, he doesn't have to wait in the car."

"You're sure?" Casey asked, skeptically.

"Yeah, I'm positive. Go on, and I'll go in the kitchen and put on a pot of tea," she said, standing.

"Um, okay then."

Casey and Nathan were back in a moment, and it wasn't long before they were joined by Emily. And while the awkward introductions were being made, Emily couldn't help but be thrown off kilter by just how much Nate looked like Derek had at that age.

Emily was still trying to take it all in, when she heard the front door open.

"Hey, mom, whose car is that in…" Tony's voice broke off as he walked farther into the living room, and he caught sight of the room's three occupants.

Lauren walked in right after Tony and joined him in staring at the three people on the couch.

Emily cleared her throat. "Umm, Tony, Lauren, I'd like you both to meet—

"Casey McDonald," Tony interrupted, softly. Tony had just seen an old picture of her weeks ago after his mom had tried to burn his father's photo album. She had a few gray hairs, and her face held some new lines, but aged or not, he'd recognize the woman who had brought his mother such misery anywhere. "What the hell are you doing here?"

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N: **I don't know Sam's last name, so I made one up. I had an idea for this chapter and a couple of reviewers had suggestions/requests, and I kinda just ran with them. Let me know what you thought!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** No flashbacks in this installment. Sorry about the wait, but homework has been kicking my ass lately.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own LWD, it's not just one of my many toys.

OOOOOOOO

Even though she had pretty much the same reaction when she saw Casey standing on her front steps, Emily couldn't let her son get away with such outright disrespect—he had been brought up better than that.

"Tony," Emily said, sharply, "is that how we speak to guests?"

"No; it's how we speak to home wreckers."

Casey grimaced. She wasn't even sure if he was referring to Emily and Derek, or Emily and Sam.

Nate shot out of his seat. "Who are you calling a home wrecker?" he asked, threateningly, obviously daring Tony to answer.

Tony wasn't fazed. "I don't know, why don't you ask my father or, hell, even your father?"

"Don't blame my mother because your mom can't keep a man."

Both Casey and Emily sucked in a breath at that, Emily because of the insult, Casey out of embarrassment at her son's behavior.

"Nate," Casey said, voice stern and low, "that's enough."

Tony's hands were fists at his sides as he made his way over to Nathan. "Who should I blame then… that _other_ slut who couldn't keep her legs closed?"

"Tony," Emily said, all ready to reprimand him, but nobody even heard her because at that moment Nathan let out a furious growl and launched himself at Tony.

They were on the ground wrestling, punching, hitting, each striving to gain the upper hand. Nate punched Tony in the face, and moved to stand, but Tony reached out and tripped him up, sending Nate crashing down into the coffee table. When the glass table smashed into pieces and the boys continue to grapple as if they hadn't noticed, it seemed to shake Emily and Casey out of their daze.

The mothers went over and tried to separate the fighting teenagers, but they couldn't get in between them long enough to do any good. When a fist barely missed catching her in the face, Emily backed away and bumped into her daughter.

Lauren was standing stock-still, bags still in hand, jaw practically on the floor, and eyes as big as saucers, as she watched the scene in front of her. She knew her brother was no saint, she'd seen Tony fight before, but not like this. She had always been aware of how angry he could get, sometimes he even scared her, but he was usually able to control himself. But there was no sign of that control now, and Lauren was afraid of just how far he might go.

"Lauren," Emily gave her a rough shake, bringing her daughter out of her thoughts. "Lauren, I need your help—get them to stop," she implored. "I know you can."

She eyeballed her mother skeptically.

"Don't give me that, I've seen you two together." Emily knew her children had a special bond—Tony may have been a mama's boy, but he doted on his sister. "At least try. _Please_," she said, frantically.

Lauren nodded; this really did have to stop. Sitting her bags down, she approached the fighting twosome.

"Tony," she said, trying to break through his haze of anger. "Tony, stop it now!" None of this was working—they just continued to pummel each other. Lowering herself to the floor, she attempted to pull them apart herself, and ended up falling onto her back for her efforts.

That stopped the fight rather quickly.

Pushing away from Nate, Tony stood up before bending down and helping his sister to her feet.

"Ren, are you okay?"

"No, you idiot," she punched him on the shoulder, "you pushed me down."

"What? Me?" he asked, surprised. "Jesus, Ren, you know I didn't mean to."

"I know," she suddenly started crying hysterically, "b-b-but th-th-that doesn't stop"—she broke off, and started balling even harder.

Emily was tempted to give her daughter the "thumbs up" sign, but she wasn't positive she was faking. So, instead, she took the opportunity presented to her, and smacked the back of her son's head.

"Look what you've done; your sister is… nevermind, just get upstairs."

"But mom?"

"Now!"

He headed up the stairs, his mother hot on his heels.

"Somebody's in trouble," Nate commented, in a singsong voice.

"Yeah, well, he's about to have company. Kitchen, _now_!" Casey yelled, pointing in the direction she assumed the kitchen was in.

"What?" Nathan was incredulous—'_can't she see I was provoked?'_

"Did I stutter?" she asked, heading for the kitchen. She didn't have to glance back to know he'd follow.

When she was alone in the living room, Lauren plopped down on the couch. Acting sure could take a lot out of a person.

OOOOOOOO

"You're going to apologize like you've never apologized before, you know that right?" Emily glared down at her son who was sitting on his bed. "I mean it, Anthony, apologize like your life depends on it, 'cause it just might."

"I'm sorry for breaking your coffee table. I really didn't mean—

Emily rolled her eyes. "Not for that, you dolt; I can buy another coffee table. You're going to apologize to Nathan for fighting him."

"But he threw the first punch," Tony responded, full of righteous indignation.

"You called his mother a 'slut,' you're lucky all he did was punch you." Who did he think he was kidding? They both knew that if the tables were turned, Tony would've been on Nate in seconds.

"Okay," he blew out an irritated breath, "so the 'slut' comment might have been a little out of line," he admitted, "but mom, sometimes you have to call a spade a spade."

"Well, until you're ready to say you're sorry," she narrowed her eyes, "you can just sit up here and think about what you've done."

"You're confining me to my room, seriously? Aren't I a little too old for that."

"Aww, honey," Emily bent down and pinched his cheek, "you're never too old to be punished by your mommy."

As she headed out the room, Emily ran a few different apologies through her own head. _'What does one say to the mother of the kid their son just beat down?'_

OOOOOOOOO

While Emily was upstairs chastising Tony, Casey was in the kitchen delivering her own brand of justice to Nate.

"How many ways can you say you're sorry? 'Cause you're gonna have to pull out the big guns for this one," Casey said, as she paced the length of the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm sorry; I know I probably made things worse between you and Mrs. Shepherd—

"Oh, that's the least of my worries,"—it wasn't really, but he didn't need to know that. "I hope you have some money in the bank, because you're paying for that coffee table." She grimaced, thinking about how much it must've cost.

"Why?" He asked, standing, but one look from his mother had him sitting back down. "I would've never broken it, if he hadn't made me."

She threw her hands up in frustration. "You attacked him first. What was he supposed to do, stand there and get hit?"

"He called you a slut, what was _I_ supposed to do?"

"One thing you _don't_ do is beat up your hostess' son." Casey ran a hand through her hair. "My god, how am I supposed to face Emily after you so royally beat Tony down?"

"I am really, _really_ sorry, mom," he said, voice ringing with sincerity. "I didn't come over here to fight."

"Humph, you sure have a funny way of showing it, slugger." She sighed, and straightened herself up. "Now, I'm going to the restroom, and when I go back into the living room I want to see you issuing an Oscar worthy apology."

"Whatever," Nathan muttered, but not until his mother was out of earshot.

He didn't want to apologize—he really didn't think he was at fault—but once he started imagining the type of punishment he would get from his father if he refused to express regret, he knew he was going to apologize. An angry Derek was a Derek he was loathed to see—it was never a pretty sight.

Grumbling and complaining, Nate made his way into the living room; he was slightly surprised to see the room empty save Lauren.

When she heard footsteps approaching, Lauren started sobbing again, but when she realized it was only Nate she immediately stopped crying.

"Oh, it's just you," she said, disdain clear in her voice.

He sat down on the couch beside her, and stared at her for a moment, examining her face.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, "it's just nice to see you're feeling better."

Rolling her eyes, she turned to face him directly. "Yeah, about that, you can say 'thank-you' anytime now."

"And why would I do that?"

"Maybe because if I hadn't distracted my brother by falling and saying he pushed me, which he didn't, you'd still be getting your ass kicked."

Nate smirked. He had known there was no way Tony could've pushed her, he had been too busy punching Nate.

"Thanks, but there was no need. I can handle your brother, and I can take care of myself," he assured her, as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back into the couch. "Oww, Oww, Oww," he moaned, shooting off the couch. As soon as his back was pressed against the sofa, it had felt like he was being impaled.

"What's wrong?" Lauren asked, hopping up.

"I feel like I'm being shanked in the back."

He was practically whimpering, and Lauren couldn't stop her eyes from rolling again. "Surprise, surprise—you were just rolling around in a big pile of glass, genius."

"Are you gonna stand there and mock me, or actually do something useful?"

"Can't I do both?" He gritted his teeth in pain, and Lauren began to feel a little bad. "Argh," she grumbled, "come here and let me see."

Nate walked the few steps to where she was standing, a frown marring his features. He really didn't want her help, but it wasn't like he could look at his back himself.

When he reached her, she lifted up his shirt without any preliminaries. Lauren immediately knew what he was talking about. If the rip in his shirt wasn't enough of an indication of where his injury was located then the piece of glass wedged into his back was. As much as she didn't like him, she couldn't help but wince—his back looked sore as hell.

Pulling his shirt back down, she said, briskly, "Take off your shirt and lay down on the couch."

"Look, baby, I know I'm attractive, but I'm not really up to that right now. Ask me later though," he joked.

"Why, you," she sputtered, huffily, "as if you could ever get me." Her voice was the height of snootiness, but she hadn't appreciated his joke at all. "Now I'm going to find a first aid kit, and if you don't want to walk around with a piece of glass lodged in your back, I'd suggest you get your ass on that couch!" Her voice had risen with every word.

"Chill, I'm going," he said, making his way over to the couch.

"That's more like it," she nodded, turning to go. At the last minute she turned back towards him and said, "Oh, one more thing, don't _ever_ call me 'baby' again."

While he got situated on the couch, Nate had to shake his head at Lauren's insulted tone at the word 'baby'. Most girls he knew would give their eyeteeth to hear him call them that. His parent's past may have put Nate in an odd situation, but it didn't stop girls from wanting him. He was just that good looking.

Lauren was back within seconds. And as soon as she returned she got right down to business. Taking out a pair of tweezers, she wiped them with an alcohol swab, and began trying to remove the glass. It took a painful couple of minutes—during which Nate gritted his teeth—but she eventually got it all out.

"This is gonna sting a little bit," she warned, before dousing his wound with hydrogen peroxide. She may have been a little heavy handed, but she got a sick sort of pleasure out of watching him squirm.

After dressing the wound, she pronounced Nate "all better," and moved away so he could sit up…which turned out to be a big mistake. Because when she caught a good look at his shirtless body, her mouth went dry—annoying though he might be, the boy was ripped.

He smirked cockily when he noticed her staring. "Like what you see," he wiggled his eyebrows.

Lauren wanted the floor to open up and swallow her, she was so embarrassed, but she refused to let him see that. "I see you've inherited your father's vanity," she said without missing a beat.

"Just like you inherited your mother's craving for Venturi men," he countered.

"'Venturi men,' now that's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one."

The smile dropped from Nate's face. "You better take that back." His voice was menacing, but like her brother earlier, Lauren wasn't intimidated.

"Or what- you gonna jump on me like you did my brother?"

"Naw; what would be the punishment in that?" He gave her an appraising look. "You'd probably enjoy it."

Chances are she would enjoy it, but there was no way she was going to admit that. "Wanna bet?"

"Sure, why not?" He leaned forward and started to advance on her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying desperately to keep the nervousness out of her voice. She wasn't exactly sure how to handle a situation like that—she wasn't a novice where boys were concerned, but guys hardly ever approached her so forwardly out of fear and respect for her brother.

"Testing a theory," he answered, as he brought his lips closer to hers.

"Lauren!" "Nathan!" The mothers had shouted in unison, both surprised by what they were seeing. Emily had been coming down the stairs and Casey was approaching from the downstairs restroom—they had both finally pulled themselves together enough to feel up to rejoining their children—when they had witnessed their children about to make out, apparently.

The teens shot apart, realizing how precarious their positions were, and began attempting to explain.

"I was just helping him—

"She said I wasn't a man—

"And he started—

"I was messing—

Listening to the kids babble was starting to give Emily a headache. Quite frankly, she didn't want to know what they had been doing.

"Lose your shirt?" Casey asked, picking up the stray article of clothing and tossing it to her son. "Fighting, breaking tables, stripping, you've been having quite a night, huh Nathan?" She was torn between being angry and being amused.

That reminded him… "Mrs. Shepherd, I am really sorry about your table. I'm gonna pay for it, I swear." He may not have been happy, but he was sincere.

"That won't be necessary," Emily told him, and he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "It's not like you were fighting yourself."

"Sweet," he murmured. _'Maybe she's cooler than I gave her credit for.'_

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Tony said, voice disbelieving, from the top of the stairs.

"Just for that, you can come down here and clean up this mess," Emily told him, gesturing to the broken glass and moved furniture. She would've made him clean up the mess anyway, but at least this way he knew that she wasn't about to stand for him speaking to her like that.

"And since Mrs. Shepherd was nice enough to cancel your debt, you can help Tony out with the cleaning." Casey winked at Nate. "This will give you two a chance to talk," she said, meaningfully.

"That sounds great," Emily agreed, smiling at Casey. "Lauren you can supervise"—Lauren rubbed her hands together evilly—"I'm going to the kitchen for a drink, you comin' Case?"

Name shortening, of course Casey was coming. The two women took off for the kitchen.

As soon as they were in the kitchen Emily reached into a cabinet and got out a couple of shot glasses. Reaching into the freezer, she pulled out a bottle of gin and started pouring. They both took a shot to the head, and to their credit neither of them made a face or gagged.

"So…" Casey said, nervously.

"So, what?"

"I was thinking, it's still raining pretty hard, and it's real dark, and Nate's car is like something the Joads would drive"—she bit her lip—"so maybe, if it's not too much trouble, maybe we could stay the night." Emily looked at her as if she was crazy. "Come on… it'll be like a slumber party."

"Our boys just got into a rumble, I'm pretty sure your son was about to pounce on my daughter, and you and I are barely on friendly terms, but you want to have a slumber party?" It sounded even crazier to Emily when she said it aloud.

Casey nodded, serenely, like they were discussing the color yellow or something.

Emily rubbed her temples, miserably. It was storming, _damnit_! Inviting them to stay was just the right thing to do. _'Damn, damn, damn.'_

Ignoring her shot glass, Emily brought the bottle to her lips and took a long gulp. "Okay, slumber party it is."

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N: **I don't know how I feel about this, so let me know what you guys thought. If you have any questions let me know.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Thoughts are in italics.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

A few shots later Emily finally felt up to imparting the news of their guests extended stay to her children. With Casey in tow she made her way into the living room, where they found their boys standing around making a half-hearted attempt to clean up the broken glass and wood pieces. From her lazy stance and small smile, it was obvious that Lauren was enjoying her job as supervisor.

Seeing no reason to draw things out, Emily got right down to it. "The weather's still pretty bad, so I asked Casey if she and Nate would like to stay the night"—the jaws of all three children dropped, but Emily ignored their expressions and soldiered on—"and she accepted."

Casey displayed a lot more enthusiasm at the idea. Clapping her hands together, she practically squealed, "We're gonna have a slumber party. Isn't that cool, Nate?"

"That's one word for it," he said, apathetically. Nate wanted to be excited for his mother, but this was too weird. Usually after Nate got into a fight he _didn't_ spend the night at the guy's house.

Sensing the teen's uncomfortable state, Emily decided to alleviate at least some of their discomfort by making Casey and herself scarce. "Come on, Casey, I'll give you a tour of the upstairs."

"Okay."

And with that the two women set off up the stairs.

"A slumber party?" Tony said, as soon as the mothers were gone. He'd mumbled, but the room was so quiet—still reeling from the shock of the mothers' announcement—that the room's other two occupants heard him quite clearly. "What's next, joint vacations?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Group therapy," Nate offered, totally in agreement about how weird it all was.

"Sunday dinners."

"Movie nights."

"Yeah, that'd be perfect; it'd give us a chance to watch the movies they made during the joint vacations," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "Really, though, what are they thinking? No good can possibly come from this."

"I heard that." Nate nodded, before reaching over and bumping fists with Tony.

It was a gesture they both used often, so it was more of an automatic thing than anything else—they didn't stop to think that they didn't even like each other.

Lauren, who had been watching the exchange with a sort of amusement, was the first to break the awkward silence that had set in.

"Aww," she began, clapping her hands together and smiling serenely, "wasn't that precious. Are you two gonna kiss and make up too?"

That seemed to snap the boys out of it.

Turning towards Lauren, Nate gave her a wink. "I don't really swing that way, but if _you're _offering, I'd be more than willing—

Tony dropped his broom. "What the hell is your problem?" he asked, advancing on Nate.

'_Okay, note to self: Tony is freakishly protective of his sister.'_

Lauren stepped in between the two boys before anything could happen. "Tony, will you go to the kitchen and fix me something to drink?"

He arched an eyebrow at her; subtle, she wasn't. "I'm busy," he said, obviously referring to his situation with Nate. "You do it," he told his sister.

"Tony, _please_," she beseeched. She knew her brother—there wasn't much he would deny her, and she was hoping that her current request would be honored.

His jaws tightened to the point that she thought his head would explode, but he did as she asked. Sending Nathan a look that obviously said, 'touch my sister and die,' Tony quit the room; but not before telling Lauren, "Scream if he comes near you, and I'll be in here in two seconds."

Now her eyes were rolling, but she nodded anyway.

As soon as he heard the kitchen door shut, Nate began closing the small distance between himself and Lauren. "You're not screaming," he observed.

"And you're not _funny_," she snapped, pushing him in the chest. "God, do you really think it's a good idea, given our history, to talk like that—to hit on me like its some big joke or something?"

Nate regarded her strangely. "What history?" he asked. "We just met today?"

"Our families' history, you idiot." Could he really not see just how tasteless he was being? "With the way your father did my mother, do you honestly think that getting your jollies by trying to mack on me is an appropriate thing to do?" Her lip turned down in disgust. "Maybe the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree."

She started to stalk off, but he pulled her back.

"What does one thing have to do with the other?"

"If you can't figure that out, then maybe you are as shallow as you look."

That time when she made to leave, he didn't stop her.

Was she expecting an apology? If she was, then that was going to be a wait in vain. Nate was of the mind that the members of the Shepherd family needed to learn how to take a joke. He hadn't meant to stir up bad memories or add any salt to the wounds of Lauren's family with what he'd said, in fact, he had really only been half joking. He _was_ more than willing to kiss Lauren, she was pretty, stacked, and had a distinct scent—a _good_ scent—that he couldn't quite place. Actually if Lauren was any testament of what Mrs. Shepherd had looked like as a teenager, then Nate could totally see why his father had hooked up with Emily. But, hot as she was, Lauren still wasn't getting that apology.

OOOO

Lauren sat across from her brother at the kitchen table. When she sipped from the mug he had slid over to her, she almost gagged.

"This is just tea," she said, disappointed. "When I said 'drink,' I meant _drink_."

"I know what you meant alchi"—Tony knew his sister was in the habit of adding a kick to her tea. "I just want you sober tonight; with houseguests like these we need to keep our wits."

"I wasn't planning on reeling and passing out in the street," she said, dryly. She'd never been drunk a day in her life and he knew it.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, brushing off her comment and switching gears. "So what did you and Venturi talk about?"

She shrugged. "Nothing really, I just told him to leave me alone."

"I'd have been happy to give him that message for you," he said, seriously.

As she watched him crack his knuckles, she gave a little half smile. "I know. But I could tell him without using my fists."

He didn't smile with her though; instead he looked her right in the eyes and said, suddenly, "I don't think he was joking about wanting to kiss you."

"Tony," she said, blushing.

"Just watch yourself around him—he probably takes after his dad."

"Tony," she interrupted him again, this time voice sterner. Close as they were, she did not want to discuss who did and didn't want to kiss her with her brother.

"That's all I was going to say." He paused a moment. "I just want you to be careful."

"I will—

Lauren was cutoff by the sound of her mother bellowing: "Tony, Lauren, come here."

The twins exchanged a look before going into the living room. Their mother wasn't in there, but looking up they saw her standing beside Casey at the top of the stairs.

"Casey and I are about to turn in," Emily told the teenagers. "You guys can stay up a little longer, but watch a movie or something, no more fighting okay." The kids all nodded, the boys somewhat reluctantly. "When you guys do get ready for bed, Tony I want you to show Nathan to the green guest room."

Tony started to protest, but when he considered the alternative, which would've been Lauren showing Nathan to his room, he kept quiet. There was no way his sister was going to be anywhere near a bed with Don Juan around.

"Good night," Emily and Casey called to the kids.

"Good night," they replied, as their mothers vanished down the hallway.

When they got to the third door on the left, Emily opened it and led Casey in.

"You can sleep in here tonight. Nate's room will be the one directly across from here, and I'll be two doors down on this side of the hall. If you need something just give me a holler." She left then, closing the door behind herself.

Casey blew out an appreciative breath, the room was very nice. She had to wonder what exactly it was Emily and Sam did for a living, 'cause they hadn't spared much expense when it came to decorating their house. She even felt a little weird about messing up the covers, it didn't look like the bed had ever been slept in—apparently Emily had inherited her mother's penchant for keeping a clean house.

Biting the bullet, she got comfortable in the bed and pulled out her cell phone to call Derek. That was a conversation she was dreading—there was no way he was going to be okay with her and Nate staying at his ex fiancé's house. Casey could only pray that his phone went straight to voicemail.

Casey gave up a silent "thanks" to the powers that be, when her prayers were answered. She left a quick, "Went to visit Emily, decided to spend the night. Nate is with me. Love you, bye." She hated to be so abrupt and cowardly about it, but really, in a case like this, the less details the better.

She tried and tried, but sleep proved elusive for Casey. Feeling restless and more than a little uncomfortable, she found she simply couldn't bear to lie there any longer. So, against her better judgment, she decided to go to Emily's room.

She found Emily in much the same position she herself had been in moments earlier: wide awake, tossing and turning.

Emily wasn't surprised by Casey's presence in her room—the night had already been like an episode of the Twilight Zone; she couldn't be surprised by anything anymore.

Patting the empty spot on her bed, she gestured for Casey to join her. And not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Casey accepted.

They sat in silence for a moment, until Casey got an idea.

"This is a pretty lame slumber party," she told Emily.

"Excuse me?" Emily asked, insulted, as she sat up against her headboard.

"Look, I'm just saying, there's been no chocolate, prank phone calls, or talk of cute boys"—Emily gave her a look that spoke volumes—"okay, so scratch the last one. But, still, you have to admit this is pretty lame."

Emily wasn't sure if Casey was joking or not, so she decided to play along. "Okay, well what do you want to do then?"

She was silent a moment while she thought. "Hmm… I don't know, what about truth or dare?"

"We already play "truth" once a week," she said, wryly. "Think of something else."

"Wait," Casey said, voice full of excitement, "does that mean you want to continue our… talk thingys?"

Emily shrugged. "Sure, why not? I probably would've called you again anyway; you just sorta beat me to it."

"Well then do you want me to pick up with the story now?"

"No." She shook her head. "That's really more of a daytime-diner-anywhere but in the bed I've shared with Sam-type of activity. Try again."

Casey threw her hands up helplessly. "I'm out of ideas"—pause—"wait I know, remember when we used to make up dances?"

"God, we really were losers," Emily said, as she recalled the hours they had spent in either her room or Casey's making up synchronized dances to whatever song was popular at the moment.

"We weren't losers," Casey said quickly, "we were creative."

"Humph."

Casey ignored her, and jumped off the bed, running over to one of the room's corners.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, curiously.

Casey had spied the CD collection when she first entered the room, and right then she was furiously flipping through it.

"I can't believe how many CDs you still have," she exclaimed. Her own CD collection had depleted years ago.

"What can I say; I like to live in the past," Emily replied, and then grimaced once she realized what she'd said.

Casey wasn't even gonna touch that one.

"So are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Just something we can dance too," she mumbled, still looking.

Emily raised a perfectly arched eyebrow—apparently Casey was hitting her pipe again. Emily danced at galas and fundraisers, sometimes she even chair-danced in the car on her way to work, but there was no way she was about to get out of bed in what was practically the middle of the night and dance with Casey. That was just a little too twilight zone-y for her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a squeal from Casey.

"Oh my God, where on earth did you find this?" she asked, holding up a CD single that was still wrapped in plastic. Casey hadn't thought about that particular song or artist in years, and she probably wasn't the only one.

Emily pulled a face; she knew when she was buying that single that she was making a mistake. "I got it at Walgreens. It was one of those impulse items by the register; they were practically giving it away," she explained.

Glancing around the room, Casey eventually spotted a CD player. She wasted no time in going over and popping the disc in.

"I'm not doing that dance," Emily stated flatly, trying to preempt Casey's begging.

"But you do remember it?"

"Nope."

"Well," Casey regarded her speculatively, "you are getting a little long in the tooth." She shrugged. "It's no wonder your memory's going."

Emily bristled at that. "We're the same age."

"And yet my memory is just fine."

She clucked her tongue in annoyance. "I know you're just trying to dare me or whatever, but it won't work. I'm not in the mood to 'crank' anything," she said, using air quotes.

"You may not be in the mood," she conceded, "but you'll do it anyway."

"Really," the sarcasm was fairly dripping from her voice, "and why is that?"

"You'll do it, 'cause deep down inside you know that it'll be fun to forget we're grown, with mortgages and car payments, for a minute. And, you'll really do it," she paused a moment, "because when we were seventeen, we may have been losers, but we were losers who had _hella_ fun."

Snap. There went Emily's resolve, broken like a twig. "Hella," had been a low blow—Casey and Emily had used that word like it was going out of style (and it had been) for the better part of a semester. And the fact that Casey remembered seemed to spark something in Emily. Climbing out of bed, she walked over and joined Casey beside the CD player.

"Alright, you win. Press the damn button."

Casey complied, and soon the room was filled with the sounds of a former number one record. Bumbling and stumbling, the two middle-aged women attempted to crank that Soulja Boy. It was the height of silliness, but maybe in a relationship that was burdened with so much seriousness a little silliness was just what they needed.

"Okay," Casey said, between giggles, "so maybe I might have over exaggerated when I said I remembered."

"Put it on repeat," Emily suggested, before almost falling down while trying to crank that Robocop. "It has to come back to us eventually, like riding a bike."

Casey slipped, again. "Or maybe not."

OOOO

While their mothers were reliving their youth, the teens were sitting through what was quite possibly the most uncomfortable movie of their lives. They had taken Emily's advice and put in a DVD. The boys couldn't agree on anything, so Lauren had approached the movie rack and reached for one blindly. So Tony and Nate had to suffer through _Grease_, while Lauren sang along with complete abandon.

"Lauren, please," Tony said, massaging his temples, "it's bad enough that we're watching this, but do you have to sing along?" It wasn't that his sister was a terrible singer, she was actually quite good, but Aretha Franklin couldn't have made that music bearable.

"I can occupy her mouth if you really want her to stop," Nate offered, smirking. He was simply messing with Tony that time; it was like he couldn't help himself. The guy really grated on his nerves. Plus, though _Grease_ was the exact opposite of his type of movie, he kinda liked hearing Lauren sing along. It almost made the movie tolerable.

"Dude, if you don't _stop_, I'm _really_ going to punch you in the mouth," Tony threatened.

"No, you're not," Lauren said, sternly. "You're both going to act like you've got some sense. You've known each other less than a day, and already"—she pause abruptly when she heard a crash upstairs. "What the hell was that?" she asked, glancing towards the stairs.

"Only one way to find out," Tony declared, standing. He was more than ready to leave that movie behind.

And interested as Lauren was in Rizzo's possible pregnancy, she couldn't help but be more interested in finding out the cause of the noises she was hearing, so she followed her brother up the stairs.

Not wanting to be left out, Nate quickly fell in behind the twins.

Once they were all in the upstairs hallway, it only took a minute to realize where the crash mingled music was coming from.

Strategically surrounding Emily's doorframe, the kids peeked through the crack in the doorway. They all just hunched there quietly for a moment, too stupefied by what they were seeing to make a sound. Their mothers were laughing like hyenas, jumping all over the place, doing what had to be the silliest dance any of them had ever seen.

"I've heard this before," Lauren whispered suddenly, as a memory flooded her mind, "they talked about it on I Love the 2000s. This dance was like really popular."

"I can see that," Nate muttered.

Tony was too caught up in what he was seeing to acknowledge that he'd even heard his sister. As far as he was concerned there might as well have been a neon sign flashing the word "foreshadowing" pointed at his mother and Mrs. Venturi. In that moment he could see it so clearly: it might take months, or even years, but his mother and Casey were going to become friends again. He dreaded that day like he'd never dreaded anything before. In his opinion, the last thing his mother needed was a friend like Casey McDonald-Venturi.

He was so disgusted and preoccupied by what he'd seen that he forgot he was supposed to be keeping Lauren from being alone with Nate at all costs.

"I'm going to bed," he mumbled, tiredly. He marched off towards his room, without offering even a backwards glance.

Lauren's heart ached to follow him, but she knew Tony well enough to know that, for whatever reason, he wanted to be alone right then.

"What's with him?" Nate asked.

"Leave it alone." She stepped away from the door. "And while you're at it, leave him alone too. If you're trying to piss him off with your little comments about me, it's working."

"Yeah, I've noticed." He shook his head. "Dude needs to learn how to take a joke."

"Maybe you should learn how to tell one," she countered.

He put up his hands in defeat. "Look, maybe instead of having the same argument, you could just show me where I'm sleeping for the night."

Lauren rolled her eyes, but she took off in the direction of the green room. Although she was loathed to do him the slightest favor, the way she figured it, the sooner he was deposited in a room, the sooner he'd leave her alone.

"Here we are," she said, when they arrived. "There are extra blankets and pillows in the closet," she pointed to it, "and the restroom is right down there," she dipped her head in the direction she was referring to. "Good night," she said, before turning to go.

"Wait," he pulled her back, "aren't you gonna tuck me in?" he asked, slyly.

The smirk on his face; the tone of his voice; the notion he seemed to have that he was intimidating her—it was all just too much for Lauren to bear. She'd asked nicely, she'd even sorta threatened him, but still he wouldn't cut it out. Oh, how she longed to wipe that smirk off his face—that same smirk he had inherited from his bastard of a father, the same smirk that two generations of Venturi men seemed to think could get any girl all hot and bothered.

She'd show him, for herself and for her mother, she'd show him that he didn't have the slightest effect on her.

Ignoring her nervousness and the voice in her head that was telling her what she was about to do was incredibly stupid, Lauren leaned in and kissed him.

As soon as their lips met she knew it'd been a mistake to kiss him: making a point didn't feel _that_ good. The plan had backfired—she had definitely felt something—but she'd never let him know that.

When they pulled apart, despite the rapid beating in his heart, Nathan forced a light tone into his voice. "So," he grinned at her, "was than an offer to join me in bed?"

This time she was the one smirking. "Puhleassse." She laughed derisively. "Like I told you earlier, 'as if you could ever get me.'" Head high, she stalked off towards her room, leaving a shocked Nathan behind.

"Then what the hell was that?" he called after her retreating form.

"I was just testing that theory for you," she answered, without looking back.

As he watched her enter her room and close the door, he couldn't help but respect her a little more than before—he hated to seem conceited, but not many girls would've turned him down. She had something—he couldn't exactly put his finger on what it was—but she definitely had it.

OOOO

The first things Casey noticed when she woke up were she was sleeping on Emily's floor, and she was sore as hell. Memories of the night before came flooding back to her—they had danced, laughed, and reminisced about some of the good times for a couple of hours, before finally surrendering to sleep.

Part of her wanted to stay and linger, maybe even have a big combined family breakfast or something, but she knew she had to get home to Derek. He was probably ten kinds of pissed, and she had a feeling there was going to be hell to pay. But, still she wished it didn't have to end; who knew what she and Emily's relationship would be like now that they were without the vodka and partially forced confinement.

Oh, well, even if last night had been a fluke, it was fun while it lasted.

Casey tapped Emily on the shoulder until she woke up.

"Hey," Emily said, blinking up into Casey's face.

"Hey." She yawned. "Look, Nate and I are going to go ahead and take off, but thanks for letting us crash here." She smiled softly. "I had a lot of fun."

When Emily didn't reply right away, Casey sighed. _'And so we're back to normal.'_

"Hey loser," Emily's tired voice called out as Casey reached the doorway, "I had fun too."

Casey's only reply was a nod and a bright smile.

OOOO

Nathan couldn't help but think: _'what the hell am I doing?'_ He really should've been in the car with his mother, but instead he'd fed her some story about having to find his watch so he could buy some time. His watch was in his pocket, and he was standing outside of Lauren's room. He didn't know why he was there or what he wanted to say, but that didn't stop him from opening her door.

He was more than a little surprised to find her awake.

"I just wanted to say…

"Yes," she prompted, when he trailed off.

"I'll be seeing you." He smiled at her then, and turned to go.

It had sounded like a threat, or maybe a promise. And she had to wonder what he meant by that, 'cause up until he'd spoken she had thought they probably wouldn't have to see each other again. She huffed, _'so much for that thought.'_

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N: **I feel like I did too much in this chapter, like I was all over the place or something. But I really didn't want the sleepover to go any further than this chapter, which is why this was ridiculously long. Let me know what you thought.

Oh, hey, if you all want to have some fun, might I suggest that you try to crank that soulja boy. It really is fun.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Thoughts are in italics.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

OOOOOOOO

As soon as she stepped into her house, Casey was met by Derek. He was sitting on the couch, looking about ready to explode; his face was red and blotchy and contorted into a mask of anger. Casey could've kicked herself for not checking the garage before she walked in—Derek _never_ parked in the garage unless it was hailing—so when she hadn't seen his car in the driveway she'd assumed that he'd gone to work as usual. Boy had she been wrong.

Derek didn't just look angry, he _was_ angry. He was pissed, and if he had been being reasonable he might have realized that the amount of anger he was feeling far outweighed the amount the situation warranted. But he was feeling anything but reasonable. Ever since he had checked his voicemail the evening before and found out that not only had Casey taken Nate to visit Emily, but that she also planned to spend the night at the woman's house, his imagination had been running amuck. All he could think about all night—he hadn't been able to sleep—was that his wife and son were spending the night in hostile territory. Emily didn't like Casey, and though Derek never claimed to be clairvoyant, he would bet his last dollar that Emily's kids probably didn't like Casey either.

Nathan had only seen his parents really argue a few times in his life, and it looked like there was about to be another fight to add to that list. Out of reflex, he took a step closer to his mother—he hadn't let Tony get away with being mean to his mother, and he wasn't about to let his father get away with it either.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Derek took in his son's protective stance. The boy's actions were commendable, but, really, it was about to be 'grown up' time, Nate had to go. Sending the teen a meaningful glance, Derek held his gaze a moment before tossing his head in the direction of the stairs.

Nate looked like he wanted to argue, but when his mother gave him a nudge he headed up the stairs. If last night had taught him nothing else, it'd shown him that in the oddest of situations his mother could hold her own, and besides he had other things to worry about at the moment.

Once she was alone with her husband, Casey held up her hands to ward off Derek's verbal assault.

"Just let me say something before you jump all down my throat," she entreated.

It took a huge effort on his part, but he leaned back into the couch and gestured for her to continue. After all, as angry as he was at what she'd done, she was still his princess and there wasn't much he would deny her. And besides, he could yell at her just as well after she spoke as he could right then.

Exhaling loudly, she pulled an index card out of her pocket—while Nate had driven, she'd concentrated on what she was going to say to Derek when she saw him.

Clearing her throat, she began reading from the card. "Derek, the only thing I'm sorry for is that I waited so long to actually go see Emily." That was a little ballsy on her part, but she knew Derek; if she showed too much repentance he would milk it for all it was worth. "I had fun with Emily—the most fun I've had in a long time—and that is something I will _not_ apologize for."

Derek folded his arms across his chest, defensively. "I never said I didn't want the two of you to have fun together, I just want you to use your head when you're around Emily," he said, forgetting his resolve not to interrupt her. "I mean, for all you know, she's just pretending to like you again, setting you up for some big fall or something." Now Derek didn't really think Emily was as mean as that, but a woman scorned was capable of almost anything.

"Humph," now her own arms were folded, the index lay forgotten on the floor. "I think I'd be able to tell if she was faking the smiles and laughter, we were friends for years."

"So everything went just perfect during your visit?" he asked. He found that just a little hard to believe.

"Not exactly, but—

"I knew it." Standing, he smiled triumphantly. "So did you two fight then laugh and smile, or was it the other way around?" It was obvious from his tone that he suspected she had been exaggerating Emily's behavior earlier.

"Oh, shut-up." She huffed. "I'll have you know Em and I didn't fight once." The 'so there' was implied.

"Well who got into a fight then, Nate?" He had only been joking, but when Casey didn't give him some snappy comeback, he knew he was right. His bluster returned in full force. "Did Sam touch my kid?"

"Calm down, papa bear," she said, rolling her eyes. "Sam's still not even living there. Nate got into it with Emily's son, Tony," she explained.

"Oh," he visibly calmed, "who won?"

Casey almost smiled at his question. "Why is it that whenever a kid gets into a fight the first thing their father wants to know is, who won?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I guess it's one of the great mysteries of the world," he said, sarcastically. Turning serious, he sighed and asked, "He didn't hurt this kid too bad did he?" The last thing they needed was to be in even more debt with Emily.

"No. By the end of the night the two even seemed friendly."

"Really?" he said, skeptically.

"Well, no." She shook her head. "But Nate was being friendly with the sister, Lauren." She smiled at the thought—'_wouldn't it be so cute if they got together.'_

Derek could see the matchmaking gleam in his wife's eye, and he immediately knew that he had to nip that in the bud. He may not be able to do anything about Emily's and Casey's budding friendship, but there was no way he was going to let his son become even more caught up in this drama. A talk with Nate was going to be necessary, or at the very least a talk with Casey.

Deciding that in this case it would be wise to chose his battles carefully, he smiled serenely—well as serenely as he could manage—at Casey.

"I'm glad things are better between you and Emily," he told her, lying through his teeth. "Just, next time leave a little more information in your message, or at least don't turn your phone off so I can't call you back."

Slickness was obviously a gift she had not inherited, and at the time she'd thought that the turning off her phone idea was very ingenious. And, considering he'd caught on to that, she was even more taken aback by his sudden mellow mood.

"Why the sudden change of heart? Why are you suddenly Emily's and mine number one fan?"

"Don't get me wrong," there was only so much goodwill he could fake, "I still don't think that it's a good idea to hang out with my ex girlfriend, but if you're happy, Princess, then I'm happy."

She wasn't blind, he was far from happy, but he was at least willing to fake it, and after months of living with him and his very vocal opinions about Emily she could appreciate that. So she hugged him and let the whole argument die, like he hadn't looked ready to thoroughly chastise her when she'd walked through the door only minutes earlier. She was too tired to participate in a long argument anyway. She was going to take a nap, then maybe call Emily.

OOOO

When Emily awoke for the second time that morning, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Sam, who was lounging on the chaise in one of the corners, had scared the mess out of her—he was the last person she'd been expecting to see. In fact, she had sort of been hoping for an afternoon to herself. After Casey had woke her up, Emily had roused her kids and made sure they got off to school before settling back into bed herself. It had been a long night.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, stretching languidly.

"I was worried about you." She arched an eyebrow, so he explained further. "I called your job to see if you wanted to go to lunch, and whomever I spoke with said that you had called in sick."

She glanced at the clock. "You should've been back to work a while ago," she noted.

"Well when I got here you were still asleep; I didn't want to wake you up, but I didn't want to leave you without knowing if you were gonna be okay either," he told her.

"That's so sweet," she said, almost surprised. It wasn't like Sam was incapable of doing something sweet, but he was very career oriented, it wasn't often he played hooky.

He got up from the chaise and joined her on the bed. "So are you okay?" The concern was evident in his voice.

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just too tired to go to work—I was up most of the night."

"Why?" The kids weren't home, so neither of them could've been sick. And if it wasn't a sick kid and she wasn't sick, then Sam really couldn't think of another reason Emily would've been awake all night.

"Casey and I were up talking and goofing around most of the night so—

"Wait- what?" He couldn't have looked more shocked if Emily had told him that she turned into a werewolf every full moon.

"Casey and her son, Nate, spent the night here, and we hung out."

He was still reeling from the news, but he dug a little deeper. "And everything was just peachy?"

"Well, minus the fight—

"Who got in a fight?" He almost hoped it was Casey and Emily, but he knew he wasn't that lucky. Besides if the two women had got in a fight, he knew somebody would've called and told him already.

"If you would let me finish a sentence," she said, annoyed by the constant interruptions. "Look," she was dreading telling him this, but she couldn't just lie outright, "when Tony and Nate met they exchanged some words and uh… ended up slugging it out. But in their defense, they were just standing up for their mothers." She wasn't in favor of Tony fighting, but it could be worse: she could've raised a punk.

"Who won?"

Emily rolled her eyes. That was such a 'guy' thing to say. The few times her little brother had gotten into fights, before her father gave him a punishment, he always asked who'd won the fight. And, really, what boy was gonna tell his father he lost?

"Does that really matter?" she said. Might as well let him wonder about it.

"No," he said, flatly. "What really matters is that you had Casey and lil' Derek," his voice was mocking, "in our house. What were you thinking?" he asked, incredulously.

"Wait a minute." She sat up straighter. "It's not like I picked up the phone and invited her over for a 'girl's night'—she just showed up. What was I supposed to do, kick her out? Make her and her son drive home in hazardous weather?"

"Well, yeah; she should not be in our house."

"I'm glad she was here." His bluster and disapproval was making her even more defensive. "We had fun."

"So, what- you guys are cool now?" he asked in disbelief. "You're friends with Casey again, yet I'm still sleeping at my brother's house."

"First off, Casey and I are _not _friends again. We've hung out like one time that actually counts." Those 'tell me how you screwed me over' meetings weren't exactly what she would call hanging out. "And besides, even if we were friends again, what does that have to do with me and you?"

Sam blew out a frustrated breath. He had wanted to have this talk for a while, and now that he kind of had an opening he figured he might as well go for it.

"It's just, as much as you deny it, and as mad as you were when you found out about Winter Formal, it's like I can still see that your relationship with Casey is drastically improving." She seemed to want to interrupt, but he held up a hand to ward her off. "And I see you a few times a week, I call you every day, I'm always telling you how much I love you and how much I want things to work out, and you seem receptive, but…" he trailed off.

"But you want to know where we stand, if _our_ relationship is improving?" she guessed.

He nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I don't want to rush you—I'll stay in this limbo forever, but I'm gonna lay it all out today. I love you, and I want to move back in," he grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I want us to be a real family again."

It could've been the fact that he took off work to sit with her, or maybe it was that he sounded so sincere. But, in the end, she knew that it was because she was tired of punishing him, tired of punishing herself—she missed her husband. More importantly, she loved her husband. Plus, he did kinda have a point: if she could start to forgive Casey, why couldn't she start to forgive him?

"Sam," she gave his own hand a squeeze, "get your shit, and get back in this house," she deadpanned.

His mouth dropped open a bit, before the both of them dissolved into laughter. Trust Emily to use the same words to kick him out and ask him back.

They spent the next hour in bed, catching up on lost time.

**TBC…**

**A/N:** If this chapter completely put you to sleep I'm sorry. But it was just one of those chapters that were necessary to the progression of the story.

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Flashbacks are in italics; during flashbacks stressed words are in a normal font.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own LWD, but I am about to own Hairspray!

OOOOOOOO

Casey was full of nervous energy as she zipped up her boots. In just a matter of minutes she would be meeting Emily at the diner for the first time in what felt like years. It had been a little over a week since their sleepover, and though they had talked on the phone a couple of times, she still felt like they hadn't spoken in forever. Their phone conversations weren't exactly what anyone would call in depth.

Derek hadn't spoken ill of her relationship with Emily lately, but Casey could tell something was bothering him—something other than her meeting Emily—she just wasn't sure what it was.

She shook off her worries though. _'Tonight isn't about Derek; it's about furthering my story.'_ The worries where her story was concerned couldn't be shaken off as easily though. Emily had gotten so mad after she heard about Winter Formal that Casey wondered if her old friend would be able to handle hearing anything else. Things were gonna get worse, not better.

The sound of sneakers skidding to a stop in front of her door broke Casey out of her thoughts.

"Nate, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, bestowing a smile upon her oldest son. She loved her children equally, but up until her little road trip with Nathan she had always felt much closer to Shawn; now it was like she and Nate had a special sort of bond of their own.

He shrugged. "Hey," he said, after a moment, "are you about to go meet Mrs. Shepherd?"

"Yeah." She rose from the bed, and began picking lent from her jacket.

"Are you going to her house again?" He was trying to sound nonchalant, and if he'd been talking to anyone but his mother, he may have gotten away with it.

"No, we're going to the diner." She avoided his gaze, when she asked, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He shrugged again; actually he'd been doing a lot of that lately in lew of actually answering questions.

"Did you want to go to her house again, see Tony?" She was only half joking.

It wasn't Tony he wanted to see, but his mother didn't need to know that. "Yeah, I was interested in a rematch," he joked. "Guess I'll have to settle for beating Shawn on the court."

As if by magic Shawn appeared at his brother's side.

"You talk a lot of trash for somebody who lost the last three games we played, big brother."

"And you talk a lot of trash for somebody whose butt I can still kick." He slapped Shawn playfully on the back of the head and took off down the hall.

"Bye mom," Shawn called, before giving chase.

Casey shook her head, smiling, and picked up her handbag. As she headed out the door she couldn't help wondering just how long it would take Nate to realize he had a crush.

OOOO

"Hey," Casey said, sliding into the both across from Emily.

"Hey," Emily echoed.

They sat silent, literally twiddling their thumbs.

"So, have you seen Mya yet?" Casey asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Her manager said she had the day off," she said, quickly.

The silence lingered on, until Casey sighed. "We're not really gonna slip back into this, are we?" She sounded hopeful.

"Sam moved back in," Emily said, suddenly smiling. She hadn't intended to tell Casey, but she'd been bursting to tell somebody and her parents were on a cruise—damn retirement—and she hadn't been able to get a hold of Sharon yet. They were the only people, save Casey, who even knew she and Sam were on the outs.

"Really, that's great," she told her. And she meant it. It was nice to see some smiles on Emily's face instead of the constant stream of frowns.

"Yeah, it's been nice; the adjustment has been fairly easy. Although," her eyes twinkled, "he did wonder where the coffee table was."

They dissolved into a fit a giggles, and just like that the ice was broken.

"So what do you want to know about next?" Casey asked, sobering. Now that Emily knew how Derek and Casey came to be 'Derek and Casey,' she could decide what else she wanted to know.

"That time I thought he was with Vicky, that was you right?" Emily already knew, but she wanted to _know_-know. It was like she had to hear Casey admit to everything—she didn't want to half step by assuming things.

"Yeah," Casey admitted, blushing. "We were being reckless. Nobody was home, and we figured: what the hell." She shook her head at hers and Derek's behavior "We didn't stop to think that our parents could walk in at any moment"—she paused—"we didn't stop to think that you oftentimes let yourself in."

"Would you have told me the truth that day if I hadn't given you an out by blaming Vicky?" She had always wondered if Casey would've thought to shift her guilt to Vicky if she hadn't thought of it for her.

"When you stormed into my room claiming to have 'seen everything'" she used air quotes, "I thought we were caught for sure. Your bringing up Vicky was pure dumb luck; I'd have never thought to do it." Casey had been too busy thinking about how to keep Emily's friendship to think about using Vicky's presence in the house to her advantage.

Emily simply nodded. She didn't know why, but for some reason knowing that made her feel a little better.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued with her line of questions. "How did you and Derek end up going to the same college? Did the two of you plan that?"

Casey almost sighed in relief; here was a question she could feel okay answering. "Honestly, no." Emily looked a little surprised, or maybe disbelieving, but she didn't interrupt. "Remember when the four of us—you, me, Sam, and Derek—got together and decided to apply to some of the same colleges, so there'd at least be a chance we would all end up together?"

Emily nodded. She and Casey had come up with that idea early in their second semester of senior year. It was real late in the game, so they were kind of pushing it by trying to make some of the priority application deadlines. But a wave of 'I can't believe I'm a senior, I'm gonna miss my friends so much' had overtaken the girls, and it was a last little attempt to stay together.

"Well, when we started getting our acceptance and rejection letters, St. Andrew's was the University that offered me the most money—

"And they had been trying to scout Derek for a while," Emily added, interrupting. She remembered that well.

"And as for you and Sam…" she trailed off.

"We both got in," Emily recalled, "but Ewing University was offering Sam a scholarship, and I had always had my heart set on going there. When I got in, I couldn't turn it down." She almost had though; the prospect of possibly losing Derek had made her seriously consider giving up her dream school to follow him. Thank God she hadn't.

"So, no, we didn't plan that." She shrugged. "It all just sort of worked out that way."

Emily could buy that, but there were other things she couldn't understand so easily. "Why didn't you two break up with me and Sam then? I'm not saying it wouldn't have hurt"—Lord knows it would have—"but that would've been the perfect time to call things off." Half the couples from her senior class had broken up when it came time to ship off to college.

"I don't know about Derek, but the thought had actually crossed my mind," Casey said, honestly. "But you and Sam weren't really going to be that far away, and even though Derek and I were doing well, part of me still believed that we wouldn't last." Emily gestured for her to elaborate. "Derek was _Derek_, this total girl magnet, and I was me, this neurotic crazy person—sometimes I thought that he'd get to college and find a girl worth leaving me and you for."

"So Sam was your back up plan?" Emily asked, sifting through what all Casey had said, and _hadn't_ said.

Casey winced. "In a sense, yes." She was quick to add, "But I didn't want to hurt him either, and we were still having fun together."

"Was I Derek's back up plan?" Emily asked, avoiding Casey's eyes. She wouldn't have been able to bear it if she saw pity there.

Casey loved when Emily asked these Derek point of view questions; they could be avoided. "That's another one of those things you'd have to ask Derek. I don't know." And she didn't _know_ for sure, she simply suspected that was the case.

Emily took some deep breaths, surprisingly she wasn't mad yet—she saw no reason to get upset about things she had thought to be true for years.

"And all the times you two baby-sat Marti while we were in college?" Emily really was curious about this. One shameful night she had gone on a snooping mission and had seen nothing but Derek and Casey actually watching Marti.

There would be no avoiding that question. "Marti was almost always really there with us, we'd just wait until she was asleep to fool around."

Okay, so there was another thing she'd been right about.

Emily exhaled. She had learned so much, so quickly. And now that she had all those little facts, they could get down to some real business.

"Why did you accept Sam's proposal?" she asked, bluntly. If ever there was a time to admit your affair—or call it off—it was when your 'real' boyfriend proposed.

"Truthfully," Casey gave a hollow laugh, "because Sam called my bluff." She rubbed her temples and added, "Or maybe I was calling Derek's bluff."

"What do you mean?" Emily was puzzled.

"Derek had proposed to me the night before Sam did, right after Sam had called and told him what he was planning on doing."

"I take it you didn't accept."

"Nope."

_With shaky hands, Casey used the key Derek had given her to unlock his apartment door. When she stepped inside, breathing erratically, nerves a wreck, she called out for him frantically, "Derek! Derek!"_

"_Yeah," he came out of his bedroom and walked into his front room, "I'm right here."_

"_Well, what's wrong? I got your text message—you said there was an emergency." She pursed her lips. "I skipped class for this, so there had _better_ be an emergency."_

"_Come sit down." He motioned to the futon. "We need to talk."_

_She tossed her jacket on the coat hook she'd made him put up, and made her way over to the futon to join him._

"'_Good' talk, or 'bad' talk?" she asked, worried. Maybe today was the day he'd tell her he'd found someone else, someone better._

"_Good talk, I hope. Actually, I just … I want to ask you something."_

_Sighing in relief, she said, "Well, go ahead."_

_He rose from the couch, and then lowered himself to the ground, kneeling. Taking a deep breath, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a tiny box._

"_Oh my God," she mumbled. There could only be so many things he was about to say._

_As he flipped open the box, he laughed shakily. "I hadn't planned on asking you this so soon, but Sam's kinda forcing my hand."_

_She blinked; '_is Sam going to propose?'

"_Casey, will you marry me?"_

_Had she been living in a fantasy world; because she'd never honestly imagined that this day would come._

"_I don't," she paused, "I don't uh… know what to say."_

_Smiling, he chuckled lightly. "Say yes."_

_Derek was obviously living in a fantasy world too, 'cause he was truly delusional if he really thought her saying yes was a possibility._

"_Could you maybe get up?" It was gonna be hard to say no, but it'd be even harder if he was in the proposal position while she did it._

_He frowned, but complied and sat back down._

"_Derek, I can't marry you."_

_He narrowed his eyes. "'Can't,' or won't?" _

"_Can't," she stressed. "I mean, really, what are you thinking?"_

_He shrugged, and glanced around the room. "Hmm… I don't know." His tone was sarcastic. "Maybe I was thinking I love you and you love me, so why don't we spend the rest of our lives together?"_

"_What about Emily?" she wanted to know. "What about Sam?"_

"_What about them?" he snapped._

"_I don't know about you and Emily"—she didn't know because she hated to hear about the two of them—"but I've made promises to Sam. He expects certain things from me," she explained. _

"_What promises?" He was frustrated with her. "I know for a fact that he hasn't proposed yet, that's the only promise that matters."_

"_The keyword is 'yet'. He is going to propose though, and he expects me to say yes." That was true, and they both knew it. "What am I supposed to do, tell him I'm leaving him to marry my lover?"_

"_You don't have to tell him anything." His voice was so cold, nobody listening ever would've suspected that they were discussing his best friend. _

"_Ugh," she snorted in disgust, "be for real Derek. I'd have to give him a reason. You don't date as long as Sam and I have without moving on to the next stage."_

"_Wait a minute." Was she saying what he thought she was? "Are you saying you'd marry Sam if he asked you?" _

_She bit her lip, which was enough of an answer for him._

"_So, what about us? You'd be willing to just end our relationship, just like that?" He snapped his fingers._

"_No," she said, fiercely, enclosing his hands with her own. "The thought never crossed my mind, honestly. I love you," she said, sincerely. They weren't in high school anymore; Casey knew exactly how she felt about Derek._

"_Well, then I'm confused." And at that moment that's exactly how he looked. "If you plan on marrying Sam, but you don't want to end things with me, what do you want to happen?" He gave her an odd look. "You didn't really think I'd continue our affair if you got married, did you?" _

_Her look spoke volumes._

"_You did," he said, softly. Disengaging his hands from her grip, he moved away from her. "Jesus, Casey." _

_There was so much disappointment in those two words that her throat tightened to the point that she almost couldn't breathe. _

"_I'm not the greatest best friend in the world, hell, I'm probably one of the worst," he admitted, "but there are some lines even I won't cross."_

"_But you said," she paused and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "When we got back together, you said you'd take me any way you could have me as long as you knew I cared." She had been banking on that promise._

"_And at the time, I meant it," he told her. "But I'm not about to sit around and watch you marry somebody else. It's marriage, Casey. It's forever, and I want you to spend your forever with me, not with me and Sam." He'd tried to keep his voice steady, but it hadn't worked—she could tell he was on the verge of yelling. "Let me put it like this: if you marry Sam, I'm going to break things off with you. I refuse to come in second this time."_

_She couldn't imagine a life without Derek—he was her number one, he had always been her number one. And if she had to make certain concessions to keep him, no matter how hard they were, she would. Like she'd told him earlier, she loved him._

"_Okay what if we compromise." She smiled, which he didn't return, but she could tell he was listening. "I'll break up with Sam; I don't know what I'll say, but I'll figure something out." He smiled then, but it was a weary smile—he was probably waiting on the other shoe to drop. "And you and I can just continue on like we've been." Leaning in to hug him, having thought she'd done well, Casey was surprised when he pulled away._

"_But I want to _marry_ you."_

"_Taking Sam out of the equation does not make a marriage between you and me possible." Laughing lightly, she tilted her head at him. "You know that."_

"_Why?" _

_Casey couldn't call the genuine look of confusion on his face. "You know why; we're related." It'd taken everything in her not to say 'duh'. "I really don't think Father Tony is in the habit of marrying stepsiblings." She'd said it in a joking manner, but their situation was getting less funny by the minute. _

"_Then we'll find somebody who is." He seemed so sincere and hopeful, like what he was proposing was actually a good idea. _

'Can't he see there is no way this can work?'

"_There are some lines I won't cross too," she told him, willing him to understand her position. "I'll give up a lot for you: Sam, the chance for a normal relationship, the opportunity to have children."_

_She noticed he looked a little guilty then—everybody who knew Casey knew how much she wanted to have children someday. Hell, it wasn't like she was against the idea of having a child out of wedlock, but having children with Derek would make it impossible to tell anyone who their father was, and that was out of the question as far as she was concerned. _

_He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You can have a normal relationship; you can have children, if you marry me." _

_Rising from the couch, she planted her hands upon her hips and towered over him. "Please enlighten me; tell me what part of stepsiblings getting married and having children is normal?" _

_He launched himself off the couch. "I get that we'll be unconventional, and we'll probably get a lot of crap from people—_

"_Crap," she repeated, incredulous at his choice of words. "Crap? What qualifies as crap? The look of disappointment I'll see on my mother's face when I tell her we have a romantic relationship?" She was so worked up she was crying by then. "The disgust in my father's voice when he tells me he can't bear to look at me? The contempt in your parent's voice when they tell me I've corrupted you? And what about our siblings—_

"_Enough," he roared, interrupting her. Grabbing her forearms, he gave her a little shake. "I'm not saying it'll be easy, but we can be together if we love each other enough."_

"_I do love you, Derek, but be reasonable," she begged. "I don't want to lose you, but I can't marry you."_

"_Then you better go ahead and accept Sam's proposal when he asks you tomorrow," he said, coldly._

"_W-w-what?" She stuttered. "Why?"_

"_I'm ready, I may not have been sure until Sam told me what he was planning on doing, but I know now that I'm ready to take our relationship public. And if you really can't see yourself marrying me, then you should marry Sam; if we can't be together the right way, then we can't be together at all."_

"_Derek," she pleaded, softly._

"_It's your choice, Casey. But if you don't accept my proposal right now, it's permanently withdrawn."_

_She hated this. She hated him. Reneging on his word, dishing up ultimatums, putting her on the spot—he was seriously starting to piss her off. How could he just spring this all on her out of the blue and expect her to know exactly what to do? He had a lot of nerve. And she was starting to think he deserved a taste of his own medicine._

"_This is your choice," she countered. "Don't put this all on me; you are the one who is making things difficult. I tried to compromise, tried to reason with you, but no—it's your way or the highway." She laughed harshly. "Maybe I should take a page from your book and give you an ultimatum." She paused. "How about, either take me whatever way you can have me, or don't have me at all? The choice is yours," she mocked._

_When he looked at her, it was like he didn't even recognize her._

"_What the hell is wrong with you?"_

_She swiped at her leaking eyes. "I was fine until I got here," she said, pointedly, voice bitter. _

"_Fine," he shook his head, "whatever. Why don't you just leave?" Gesturing as if he were through with her, he said, "Do whatever the hell you want." He sounded more tired than angry._

_She marched towards the door and grabbed her jacket. "Oh, don't worry, I will." She left then, slamming the door behind herself. _

"You were so stupid," Emily said, bluntly.

"I know, I never should've left like that—

Emily waved an impatient hand. "No, not that," she paused and thought, "well, okay, so that was stupid too. But that's not what I meant. I'm talking about not accepting his proposal because you were stepsiblings."

"Wait- what?"

"Don't get me wrong; y'all probably catch hell on a daily basis because you're sorta related," She elaborated, "but, so what? Isn't being with the one you love worth all the tough times you've been through?"

"Look, I know it's worth it now. But I was young then," she explained, "I didn't think I'd be able to handle the negative reactions we were sure to face; I didn't think 'love' would be enough to get me through those tough times." She sighed. "I just didn't _think_."

"Okay," Emily said, after a moment. She could buy that. They had all been young, young and incredibly stupid. Casey couldn't see what she was losing, and Emily hadn't been able to see what was right in front of her eyes. It had all been so clear. She couldn't even blame Casey and Derek for everything anymore, because the more she heard about their story the more she began to wonder how she ever could've been so blind to what was right in front of her.

Leaning back into her worn seat, Casey blinked a few times at Emily's easy acceptance of her explanation. Things had been going so smoothly that she was beginning to wonder if Emily was possessed… or maybe tipsy.

"Well," Emily sighed, "at least now I know why Derek acted such an ass at that surprise engagement party thingy Sam threw you."

Casey grimaced, and Emily could see why. At the time, when Sam had asked for her help with planning a surprise party for Casey so he could propose to her with all their friends and family around, Emily had thought the idea to be incredibly romantic. But now that she was older and a little wiser, she could see what a shaky idea it'd been—talk about putting somebody on the spot. Had there really been a way Casey could've gracefully turned him down with all those onlookers?

"'Acted such an ass' is an understatement," Casey retorted. She was still a little miffed at his behavior that evening. "I'm not even sure who he was trying to punish more, himself or me."

"I'd say it was about equal," Emily said, wryly. Between the public grope fest Derek had made her participate in, which she now knew had been for Casey's benefit, and the amount of his dinner that had ended up in the toilet, she'd say that both Casey and Derek had a pretty rough night.

As more images from the night of her engagement party flashed through her mind, Casey couldn't help nodding her head in agreement. "You're probably right."

"Okay, so at that point you two were really pissed at each other; were you still speaking at all?" Emily wanted to know.

"No, we didn't speak again until a few weeks later when he proposed to you."

"Hmmm… I wonder what you two discussed," Emily's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

**TBC…**

**A/N:** I don't know how college application deadlines are in Canada, but most of my applications didn't have to be in until like the first of March so I went with that date. Also the colleges were made up. I also don't know how the school year id divided up, so I went with semesters. Let me know what you thought!

Have a nice Holiday!

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** There is a passage from OTB in this chapter, because the flashback overlaps with a flashback from a chapter of OTB. Flashbacks and stressed words are in italics.

**Disclaimer:** I own Hairspray now, but still no LWD.

OOOOOOOO

"Look, I forfeit," Shawn said, breathing heavily. "You win."

"Aww, what's the matter," Nate released the ball and sent it sailing into the basket, "can't take losing anymore?"

"No," he glared at his brother, "what I can't take is you sticking me like this. This is supposed to be a friendly game, not a 'let's see if we can kill Shawn' game."

"My fault," Nate said, sending him an apologetic look. It wasn't like he'd been trying to hurt his brother or anything; he'd just been trying to work off some of his excess energy.

"What's with you anyway?" Having caught his breath, Shawn was trying, unsuccessfully, to spin the ball on his finger. "Ever since y'all got back from the Shepherd's house you've been acting weird. If you're not bouncing off the walls, you're sulking in a corner or something, and I'm not the only one who's noticed either."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He'd tried to sound flippant, but there was a panicky look in his eyes—the last thing he wanted was people commenting on his behavior or asking him questions about it.

"Yesterday at school, Ariel Peters practically groped you in the hallway and you acted like you didn't even notice she was there. Screech was so worried that he asked me if you were sick."

"Stop calling Brian that, and while you're at it, stop watching mom's Saved by the Bell DVDs. You know that show was before even her time right?"

Shawn waved off his words; he enjoyed Saved by the Bell, and if Brian Sheffield wasn't Screech 2.0 then his name wasn't Shawn. What else do you call the dorky kid who for some inexplicable reason hangs out with the most popular guy in school?

"Don't change the subject. I mean you haven't been on a date all week." He walked over to Nate and placed the back of his hand on his brother's forehead. "I'm beginning to wonder if you're coming down with a fever myself." Nate swatted his hand away. "Pretty soon the girls of Tech High are going to go into a panic if you don't get your act together."

"Ha ha," Nathan said dryly. But he could see Shawn's point; he wasn't in the habit of not being receptive to the attention of females. Labels weren't something he was in to, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a player.

"The lack of interest in girls at our school, restlessness, mood swings, you know if you were anyone else I'd think you were really, _really_ into a girl." Giving his head a tiny shake, Shawn laughed at the notion. His brother wasn't like that. Oh, he was into girls all right—Nate was what one might call a connoisseur of women—but he never became too invested in a particular girl.

He stopped laughing though when he noticed his brother hadn't joined him.

"You like a girl?" When he caught Nate's deer in the headlights look, his jaw dropped to the pavement. "You like a girl," he repeated, and this time the questioning lilt was gone from his voice. "Who?" It was the first question that popped in his mind, 'cause if it'd been a girl at school Shawn was positive he would've noticed already.

"I don't necessarily like her, I'm just interested in her," Nate said, trying belatedly to diffuse the situation.

"Who is it?" he persisted.

After a long paused, Nate sighed and said, "Mrs. Shepherd's daughter, Lauren."

Shawn stared at him a moment, before busting out laughing. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more.

Rolling his eyes, Nate wondered why he was so surprised by his brother's reaction. It was just like Shawn to find something like his current situation funny. But, really, he felt that the rolling around on the blacktop was a bit much. So he kicked him.

"It's not that damn funny," he muttered.

"Oh, I think it is." Taking Nate's extended hand, Shawn pulled himself up. "It just figures that the first girl you really like"—he paused and winked at his brother. "Oh, excuse me; the first girl you're _interested_ in is the daughter of the people our parents burned so badly." He started chuckling again.

"Well, if you think that's funny, you'll die when you hear this," Nate's tone was a mix of sarcasm and annoyance, "she doesn't even like me."

"Somehow I doubt that; I've seen grown women faint at the sight of you." Sadly, it wasn't even that much of an exaggeration. Nate had looks and mixing that with the fact that he knew how to be charming as hell- women loved him.

"It's not my looks she doesn't like," he assured him, voice a little cockier than he'd intended. "It's my personality." He scoffed. "Can you believe that?"

Grinning, he answered, "yes." His brother may have had an incredible amount of popularity, but that didn't mean he couldn't be annoying. Nathan had a habit of sometimes going too far—he didn't always know when to quit. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing."

Arching an eyebrow, Shawn simply stared at him.

Sighing in defeat, Nathan slumped. "Well…

OOOO

Casey laughed lightly. "I don't know if you could exactly call the words Derek and I exchanged after he proposed to you a discussion," she told Emily. "It was more like we were having a yelling contest where one of the main rules was: you must swear as much as possible. It's funny how many bad words you can think off when you're truly angry."

"So you weren't even a little bit happy for me?" Emily asked softly.

"No, I mean, yes I was," she said, backpedaling. "It's not like I didn't want you to be happy, I just—

"I was joking, Casey," she interrupted, laughing. "Why would you be happy? I was set to marry the great love of your life."

"Mmm hmm" she murmured. Casey was having just a little trouble adjusting to this 'new Emily'; it was weird not being chewed out after every new development in the story.

"Okay, so when did y'all _really_ talk again?" she asked, moving on.

"The next time we had a meaningful conversation was at my rehearsal dinner before everything happened," she said, blushing guiltily. From the things Emily had said while she was telling her off, Casey knew that Emily had heard part of her conversation with Derek that night; at the very least she must've seen the two of them together. Clearing her throat, Casey prepared to ask her something she'd wanted to know for years. "How much… um, what all… how—

Emily held up a hand to cut off her ramblings. "You want to know exactly how I found out about the two of you," she guessed. Emily could see why she'd be curious; if it had been a shock for her to see Casey and Derek together, then finding out that Emily knew about her affair had probably been just as big a shock to Casey.

"It was a complete accident really." She shook her head in amazement; it still boggled her mind how different her life might've turned out if she hadn't gone looking for Derek and Casey that night. "The bartender told me he'd seen the two of you go outside, and assuming you'd gone out to argue, I decided to go find you and break it up." She laughed wryly. "Boy did I see and hear more than I'd ever bargained for."

Grimacing, Casey looked down at the table. As fantastical as the thought was, she'd always kinda hoped that she'd been wrong about the way Emily had found out.

"Actually," Casey's head rose at the sound of Emily's perky voice, "that's what I want to hear about next." At the questioning look she received, Emily elaborated. "I actually came into you guy's conversation late and left before it was over"—she left out the crying hysterically, falling on her butt, running to the restroom to throw up part—"so if you could fill in what I missed that'd be great."

"Um, okay," Casey agreed.

As Emily took a calming breath and mentally readied herself for what she was about to hear, she couldn't help but wonder when exactly it was she became a masochist.

_Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Casey steeled herself, put on a bright smile and turned around to accept the congratulations from whatever well-meaning well-wisher felt the need to speak with her this time. She'd been smiling so much that her jaws actually hurt, and the funny part was she wasn't even happy. In fact, she was miserable, but having made a choice she was reconciled to the fact that she was going to have to stick with it. _

_When she came face-to-face with Derek instead of some obscure relative or a friend of one of her parents, she almost fainted. _

"_We need to talk," he spoke, briskly, "privately. Let's go outside."_

_Her back stiffened at his demanding tone. "I can't leave; we're in the middle of my wedding rehearsal dinner, in case you haven't noticed." _

_Derek's eyes rolled automatically. "Oh, really, is that where I am?" he asked, sarcastically. "Look," he blew out a breath in irritation, "we can do this the hard way or the easy way, it's up to you; but whatever happens we are talking tonight."_

"_Was that supposed to be intimidating?" Crossing her arms over her chest, she scoffed. "Am I supposed to—_

"_Casey," he cut in, "stop being a bitch for like one minute and listen to me." _

_Her eyes narrowed, but she remained silent._

"_We can either talk privately outside or I can make a scene that will have _everyone_ in here talking, the choice is yours."_

"_You wouldn't," she said, calling his bluff._

_Laughing mirthlessly, he shrugged. "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of doing when I'm angry enough."_

_Casey started to push him into carrying out his threat, but something about the look in his eyes stopped her. Sure, she'd seen him angry before—he'd been angry when she'd turned down his marriage proposal; but even then he had not looked like this. It hadn't been recognizable at first, but now it was clear to Casey just how hard he was trying to keep himself in check. His clenched fists, the tightness of his jaw, the measured tone of his voice- Casey figured she had better go outside with him before he really did decide to do things the 'hard way'. She was far from happy about it though._

"_Fine," she hissed, "we'll go outside."_

_From the expression on his face it was easy to tell that Derek had expected more of a fight out of her. Instead of commenting on her relatively easy acceptance of his demands, Derek simply grabbed her by the elbow and steered her out the back door. _

_They walked silently for a moment until Derek found a spot he felt would do. When they came to a stop, Casey tore herself from his grip and began to rub her newly reddened elbow._

"_What the hell is your problem?" she asked, harshly. _

"_You," he said, bluntly, pointing at her. "You are my problem."_

_His tone was so accusatory and full of hate that Casey nearly recoiled at the sound of it._

"_I am so sick of you and your mind games. It's like everything is some big joke to you. Do you take anything seriously?" he asked, exasperated. "Do you even realize what you're doing?"_

"_I know exactly what I'm doing," she said, primly. And even as the words came out of her mouth and her chin rose proudly, she knew it was quite possibly the biggest and most unforgivable lie she had ever told. She hadn't known what she was doing in weeks—she'd simply been going through the motions. _

"_Do you?" He wanted to know. "God, Casey, I loved you—I'm still in love with you, and against my better judgment I still want to marry you." He shook his head, apparently at his own stupidity. "I'm here tonight because I wanted to tell you that there is still time; it's not too late, we can be together."_

_Looking past the signs of anger and frustration that were etched on his face, Casey could only stare into his eyes, which shined with unshed tears. This is what she had reduced her ultimate player, tuff-guy ex-lover to: the type of man who was willing to lay his heart bare and put his feelings on the line for the small chance that she might reciprocate them. Her arms itched to reach out to him—she'd never stopped loving him—but he was wrong, it was too late for them. She'd made her choice, and even if it killed her, and there were times she thought she'd die of heartache, she'd stick with that choice. _

"_Would you say something?" he said, abruptly. "I said I still want to marry you, Casey. We can have it all; the house, the kids, the life, Casey, it can all be ours if you want it badly enough."_

"_Derek, stop" she murmured. She was determined not to let him tempt her._

"_I know it'll be hard for us given our situation, but it'll be worth it," he assured her._

_Casey's head was pounding by the time he finished speaking. Staring into his earnest face, she felt confused, shaken, and most of all she was angry. How dare he entice her like this? The way he spoke, as if a successful marriage was a real possibility for them, was too much. He was causing her to regret many of the choices she'd made recently, and that regret made her do something a little irrational: she slapped him._

"_Damn you, Derek. Damn you to hell for doing this on the night before my wedding!" He'd had weeks to tell her all this, but for the past few months their conversations had consisted of nothing more than hurtful comments and snide remarks. "Why are you doing this to me?" Her voice was a mixture of anger and exasperation, but she sounded like she honestly wanted an answer._

_Derek rubbed his abused cheek. "Why are you doing this to me?" he mocked her accusingly, but there was no humor in his voice. __"Despite how we feel about each other, you're still planning on going through with this circus," it wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. "How could __you__?"_

"_Don't you dare put this all on me," she said menacingly, head shaking back and forth. "I may be getting married tomorrow, but I'm not the only one with a fiancé," she said as she reached under his shirt to and pulled out the chain that Emily had bought him a few months earlier. "We've both made our choices and now we have to stick with them. I __am__ getting married tomorrow, and then next month you'll marry Emily and we can all live happily ever after," she said, sarcastically._

"_Casey," he said, as he reached out and grabbed her._

"_Don't touch me," she growled in response. But her attempts to extract herself from his hold were halfhearted at best. It felt unreasonably good to be in his arms again. _

"_Casey, please," was all he said before grabbing her lips in a hungry kiss._

_In mere seconds her hands went from trying to beat him off, to trying to pull him closer. She couldn't deny herself his kiss any more than she could deny herself the right to breathe. _

_They kissed, and kissed, and kissed some more; it was like going home for Casey._

_After a moment, Casey remembered where she was and what she was doing and pushed away from Derek. When he made a move to recapture her lips, she took a giant leap back that almost caused him to fall on his face. _

"_Derek, we can't… we have a duty to our significant others." She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more, herself or him._

"_Fuck duty…"_

"_Derek," she whispered softly, sadly._

"_Fuck Sam…"_

_Casey closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she was trying so hard to conjure up the willpower to deny him what they both wanted so badly._

_When her eyes opened, Derek slowly and deliberately brought his hand up to the necklace that Emily had given him not so long ago. As his fingers toyed with the locket that held the pictures of him and Emily, Casey shook her head back and forth, silently mouthing the word 'no'—she knew what was coming. And she knew that if he rid himself of that chain, and all the baggage that it symbolized, her resolve, to do what she had come to see as the right thing, just might break. _

"You can stop," Emily interrupted, holding up a hand. "I know what happened next."

Really, Emily could've stopped Casey a while ago, but it had been interesting to hear an event she'd actually been around to witness from Casey's point of view. She had wanted to let Casey keep going, but thinking about what'd happened next made Emily misty eyed and more than a little angry, and she was trying her best to be in a good mood. So she figured it was probably best not to relive the moment Derek had ripped off the pure platinum locket she'd bought him, said 'Fuck Emily,' and started making out with Casey again.

Casey heaved a sigh of relief, the last thing she had wanted to do was keep retelling that particular conversation.

"I went back inside right about then," Emily told her, "so I didn't hear what you two were planning to do next."

Casey began to think her sigh of relief had been a little premature. Rubbing her hands over her face, agitatedly, she grimaced. "Derek and I were both incredibly selfish at the time—

Usually this is where Emily would interrupt and say something mean, but she was trying to put the past behind her and it was obvious that Casey was ashamed of her past behavior, so Emily merely listened and let the opportunity for insult pass her by.

"—so, of course, we planned to do something completely heinous."

_Finally, after breaking off what had to be the world's longest kiss, Casey stepped back and gazed at Derek with watering eyes._

"_I'm so sorry, Derek." Her voice rang with sincerity. "I've done so many things, made so many bad choices, and I want you to know I'm sorry for all of it."_

"_Hey now," he reached out and wiped her tears away, "you had some help in the bad choice department. Between the two of us we've made some extremely stupid decisions."_

_Nodding in agreement, she said, "Yep, and now we have to deal with them. I know now that I can't marry Sam—I never wanted to in the first place. But, God, I don't think I have what it takes to go in there and tell him in front of everyone. I know you're ready for everyone to know about us, but"—she broke off, and began to sob uncontrollably._

"_But, you're still not ready."_

"_I am ready," she assured him, voice desperate, "but I can't do it right here, right now." He looked poised to retort, and Casey thinking that she may have upset him again, launched herself back into his arms. "Please don't leave me," she begged. _

_Pulling back from her enough to be able to look into her eyes, Derek blinked down at her. "I'm not going anywhere, Princess."_

_Hearing her old nickname caused a giddy laugh to escape from her lips; she didn't know how much she'd missed the name until he said it._

"_We'll think of another way, you don't have to do it right this second," he promised, as he gently rubbed her back._

"_But I'm supposed to marry him tomorrow, that doesn't leave much time." She glanced at her watch; it was only a matter of hours before she was to become Mrs. Casey Shepherd. _

_They were both quiet for a while, each trying to come up with a good, realistic idea. _

"_I've got it," Derek exclaimed. "We'll go back in there and act like everything is normal—just behave the way any bride-to-be would. You were going to stay at your father's hotel tonight right?"_

"_Yeah." That had been her father's idea; he'd gotten one of those adjoining room things so they could spend her last night as a McDonald together. It was supposed to be some type of bonding activity, but to Casey it was just too little too late. _

"_Okay, so when you think your father's asleep call me and I'll come pick you up. You've already got a bag packed for your honeymoon"—there was a questioning lilt to his voice, so she nodded. "Bring the bag with you; we'll figure out how we're going to get the rest of your stuff later, once we're at my apartment."_

"_But what about telling Sam?" she wanted to know._

"_You can leave him a note, one of those 'Dear John' deals. We'll tape it to the door of the church or something." It sounded awful, and even Derek had to grimace, but it was a plan._

_Biting her lip anxiously, Casey swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. Sure it was cowardly, and it almost bordered on evil, but it'd spare her the act of getting on stage and making a spectacle of herself by announcing the wedding was off, so she'd take it. _

"_It's a plan," she said, solemnly, sighing in resignation. _

_The great-escape-break-up-letter plan only took care of so much though. Casey couldn't help but ask, "What about—_

"_Shush," Derek put two fingers to her lips, "we'll figure everything else out later, I promise."_

_She started to protest, she really wanted to talk about everything else. But as she took in the sight of his beautiful eyes, partially hidden by his incredibly long lashes, she couldn't do anything but sigh contentedly and kiss him. After all, he was right, they would figure everything else out later. Everything was going to be okay. _

Emily laughed heartily. "Ooo, you really called that one."

Shaking her head, Casey joined Emily in laughing. How silly and naïve she could be back then still amazed her at times.

"Yeah, we both know that everything was far from being okay. You saw Derek and me and told everyone about it, and well, you know what happened next."

"Well, I do and I don't." Emily was frowning. "I don't know what happened after I punched you and left," she said, blushing. And contrary to what she had told her children, she had always wanted to know what had happened in the aftermath of her revelation. She didn't regret leaving the banquet hall—being near Casey and Derek had not been an option at the time—but she did regret never having made Sam tell her what else happened that night. She may have been angry, but she was still curious.

"Nobody ever told you what happened after you left?" Casey asked, surprised. She'd always just assumed that someone or another had filled Emily in.

Emily shrugged. "I sort of became a recluse for a while after finding out about the affair, and by the time I was willing to speak to people who weren't in my immediate family most people had enough class not to bring it up. The classless few who did try to talk to me about all that had happened were met with tight lips and closed ears. So…"

"So, you want to know what occurred following the 'punch seen round the room?'"

"Yeah; why not?"

Casey could think of a hundred reasons why not, but this was supposed to be about full disclosure, so what the hell.

OOOO

"Let me get this straight, you insulted her mother, fought with her brother, wrecked her house, and kept coming on to her even after she told you how tasteless it was—and it was tasteless—and yet you don't know why she might not think you're personable? You've got to be kidding me." After hearing Nate's story, Shawn was surprised that Lauren hadn't slugged him herself.

"Well when you say it all like that I sound like a jackass."

"Exactly," Shawn said, pointedly.

"Hey," he cried indignantly. "Okay, so, insulting somebody's mother is below the belt, but Tony did it first. Dude totally had it coming when I hit him."

Shawn held up his palms. "Hey, man, I agree; I'd do the same thing if I heard somebody talking about mom." And he would, in fact he had before. "But this Lauren chick, she seems to be real close to her brother, so fighting him probably wasn't the smartest thing to do."

Spinning the ball on his finger and smirking at his brother, Nate said, "to be fair, I wasn't interested in her until after I fought her brother."

"That still doesn't change the fact that she's pissed at you."

"And I know this." He rolled his eyes. "What I want from you is some advice on how to make her not pissed at me."

Shawn nearly fainted. Nobody would ever believe that the school's 'girl specialist' was asking for his advice, hell he almost didn't believe it. It wasn't like he hadn't had his fair share of dates, but he typically asked Nate for advice, not the other way around.

Not wanting to let Nate down—after all this opportunity may never come again—Shawn seriously considered the problem at hand before offering his advice.

"What you need," he said, suddenly, "is a gesture. You need to do something, not necessarily something big, but something meaningful to show that at least some of your come-ons weren't jokes. Make her take you seriously; make her like you."

"That's your advice?" His tone was flat.

"Umm, yeah."

Nathan nodded slowly. "Not bad, not bad at all. And, hey, if it doesn't work, I can always beat you up until I feel better."

"Whatever." Shawn waved off his comment; Nathan had only seemed half serious. But, then, a thought occurred to him. "You may want to keep this whole Lauren thing between the two of us though," he warned his brother. "I have a feeling everyone knowing would only create more problems, and mom has enough to deal with at the moment."

"Well, duh." Did Shawn think he was an idiot? His parents were the last people he was planning on telling.

**TBC…**

**A/N:** Let me know what you thought.

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **I am SO sorry about the ridiculous wait for this chapter, but school has been kicking my ass lately. The wait would've been even longer 'cause now I've got a cold, but I promised Ms. Brandi a new chapter by Sunday and I hate to renege.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned LWD, it would be a lot racier.

OOOOOOOO

Casey could think of a hundred reasons why not, but this was supposed to be about full disclosure, so what the hell. She'd tell Emily what she wanted to hear, and she'd just hope that reliving that particular instance didn't make either of them start crying or anything. Because, if the evening of the rehearsal dinner was the night that Emily's world fell apart, then the same could be said about Casey's world. That was the night Casey found out who her real friends were too . . . that was the night she realized whose love for her was unconditional and whose wasn't.

Emily took one glance at her dejected companion and reached over, patting her hand comfortingly, if somewhat awkwardly.

"Whatever happened after I left, Casey you can tell me?" She laughed lightly. "I really don't think it could be any worse than what you've already told me."

'_That depends on who you're asking,_' Casey thought. Things had certainly gotten worse for Casey and Derek after Emily had left.

"Don't worry," she sighed, "I'm going to tell you all about it."

"Great!" Emily's voice was enthusiastic, and she rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

"Yeah, great," Casey said, glumly.

_Ignoring the stares of the crowd, Casey quickly scrambled to her feet and turned towards the room's entrance just in time to catch the end of Emily's grand exit. As she watched the cousins stalk purposely out the door, Casey couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Emily wasn't just walking out of the room; she was walking out of her life. Forever. She knew that they'd never recover from this, never become friends again. Emily had a new best friend now; Sharon would be the one Emily shared secrets with and have three hour phone conversations with. It was the end of an era, and even though Casey knew she was to blame for her current situation, she couldn't help but be sad at seeing it all come to an end. _

_Shoulders slumping in defeat and looking as though she was walking towards the gallows, Casey turned to face the music. Sparing her jilted fiancé a half-pitying half-repentant glance, she started to explain. "Sam, I—_

"_Casey," Sam interrupted, swallowing hard. "If you denounce him right now, if you promise to never be with him again, I'll take you back."_

_Casey blinked unintelligibly. She must've been hearing things, because there was no way he could possibly be saying what she thought he was saying. For the first time she had to wonder if Sam needed therapy or something- his overzealous affection for her and holding her up as some paragon of virtue was one thing, but him still wanting her after all that had happened was just sad. _

_Now she knew why he had swallowed so hard: his pride must've had a tough time getting down his throat._

_When she didn't respond, he continued. "Did you hear me? I said I'll take you back," he repeated, sounding benevolent, like he was doing her the world's biggest favor. Maybe, in his mind that's exactly what he was doing. "We can work this out, I know—_

_Apparently, Derek had heard all he could stomach, because at that moment he let out a derisive grunt. "You're pathetic, man." He shook his head. "This is the—_

"_I'm pathetic?" Sam was incredulous. "Dude, you're dating your sister?"_

"_Stepsister," Derek and Casey corrected automatically._

"_Are you two for real?" He laughed in disbelief. "Is _this_ for real?" He was beginning to sound a little hysterical. "Really, is Emily your accomplice, am I being punk'd?" He started looking around the room wildly, as if he expected somebody to jump out and yell 'gotcha'. "Because, this can't seriously be happening."_

"_I second that," a weary voice called from the crowd._

_Casey immediately recognized it as her mother, so she wasn't surprised when Nora emerged from the crowd, a pale and sweaty George at her side._

"_Mom, I can explain," Casey said, taking a tentative step towards her mother._

_Nora gave a mirthless laugh. "Unless you're going to tell me that this," she gestured around the room, "was just some weird," she paused and shook her head, starting over, "actually, no, there is just _no_ way you could explain this." _

"_Mom," Casey tried again, only to be interrupted a second time._

"_I'm sorry." Nora sent Sam an apologetic look. "It must be my fault; it's always the parent's fault." Turning her gaze towards the ceiling, she asked, "Where did I go wrong?"_

_George slung a comforting arm around her shoulders. "We couldn't have prevented _this_," he said, disgustedly. "What parent could predict that their children would start"—he broke off, shuddering. "Ugh, I can't even say it."_

_There were a few murmurs of agreement from the crowd, Casey could hear words like "incest," "siblings," and "sick" being tossed around. At that moment she wanted to die. _

_Derek seemed to be having a far different reaction. It was obvious from his expression and the clenched hands at his sides that he was pissed. _

"_What is your problem?" he yelled at the crowd, his father in particular. "You're acting like we're really related or something."_

_The room's occupants seemed to raise a collective eyebrow at him. _

"_Do I need to get you a dictionary?" George asked, voicing the opinion of the crowd. "Because I could've sworn that related by marriage still counted."_

"_We met when we were fifteen and sixteen," Derek said, as if the simple fact changed everything._

"_Nora and I met when we were in our thirties and I'm pretty sure that doesn't make our familial relationship any less real," George countered. _

"_But—_

"_Wait," George interrupted Derek and sent Nora a confused look, "I don't even know why we're discussing this."_

"_George?" Casey asked, tentatively. He seemed to have suddenly had some sort of epiphany, and she just didn't trust the look on his face._

"_We're their parents," he told his wife, "and we can fix this."_

"_Dad?" Derek was even starting to become a little wary._

_Ignoring the questioning voices, he focused on Nora. "We'll get them the help they need." George was speaking like they were alone instead of in a room full of people; he was speaking like Casey and Derek couldn't even hear him. "I'm sure there are doctors who specialize in just this type of thing."_

_While George grabbed Nora's hand, Casey and Derek mimicked the gesture. One couple's hands were clasped together in comfort, the other in fear._

_Casey felt faint. _'Are they going to have us committed?'

"_It'll all work out," George was whispering, but the room was so silent, intently watching the goings-on, that everyone could hear him, "you'll see."_

_Having finally been able to find his voice, Derek asked, "Why are you talking about us like we're crazy?"_

_One would've thought the sky was falling, George looked so stunned. "Because, I think finding out that my son is sleeping"—he almost choked on the word—"with my daughter is just a tad bit crazy." _

_It was Casey's father, Dennis, who added the "step" that time. It must've been an automatic sort of thing, because just as soon as he'd spoken he returned to looking both thoroughly confused and thoroughly fascinated. _

"_It's obvious that you two need psychological help," George continued as if Dennis had never spoken._

_As they felt the walls closing in on them, Derek and Casey stood closer together, each searching the crowd for, if not a friendly face, then at least a sympathetic or empathetic one. _

_Neither found grandparents, they were all either dead or absent. Casey's gaze lingered on a semi-forgotten Sam, and it was clear from his intense gaze that he would save her if only she'd return to him, but now that everything was out in the open she knew she'd never return to him again. When she'd almost given up hope she caught sight of Lizzie. Oh, her loyal sister Lizzie. In all the commotion Casey had almost forgotten the younger siblings were there. _

_But after a moment her hope died completely. Like everyone else in the room, Lizzie was looking at her, but she wasn't seeing her. She seemed lost in thought, and Casey could practically see the gears turning in the younger woman's head._

_When Lizzie finally noticed she'd attracted Casey's stare, she moved towards her sister, head shaking._

"_This is why?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. _

"_Why, what?" Casey asked, genuinely confused._

"_All my soccer games, tae-kwon-do tournaments, and volleyball games you missed, is this why?" she elaborated, voice stronger. "Were you too busy messing around with Derek?" _

_Casey's silence spoke volumes. _

_Eyes narrowing, Lizzie clutched her silk dress, completely ruining it, in agitation. "I always_, always_ came to your stuff. And the few, the very few times I missed one of your performances or recitals you acted like I was committing a mortal sin."_

"_Lizzie," Casey tried to explain, but was cut off by her irate sister._

"_God! Your selfishness knows no bounds."_

"_It's okay, Liz." Edwin, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air, started to place a calming hand on Lizzie's shoulder, but a not-so-subtle throat clearing from his father had him stopping._

"_We'll have to watch those two more closely from now on," George told his wife._

_His comment brought more murmurs of agreement from the crowd._

_If looks could kill, the twin stares of hate Lizzie and Edwin sent Casey and Derek at that moment would've had the couple buried six feet under. _

_Opting to deal with one problem at a time, Edwin focused accusing eyes on Derek. _

"_So, I was important enough to you that you could trust me with your lame pranks and petty problems, but when it comes to something really important you just shut me out?"_

"_Ed," Derek began, attempting to clarify, "I trust you, but this was," he paused searching for the right words, "grown up business. I couldn't—_

"_I'm grown up enough to do your homework and your dirty work, but not grown up enough to know you're screwing Casey. Okay, check," he said, sarcastically._

"_Edwin, I'm—_

"_Just forget it," Edwin bit out. "And forget you."_

"_Smerek?" A tiny voice called out into the silence._

_Things had gone so bad with the other siblings that Casey dreaded hearing what Marti had to say. The girl had always been sharp, and as the years had gone on she'd gotten even more observant. _

"_Those times you babysat me, you and Casey were coming to play with me right?" She was giving them the benefit of the doubt. "I know they were mean to you guys," she told Lizzie and Edwin, "but my Smerek wouldn't use me just so he could kiss Casey." She almost sounded triumphant._

"_Derek," Edwin's voice held a clear warning, "you better tell her the truth."_

_Derek walked up to his sister and ruffled her hair. "I love you Smarti." She smiled brightly, as if to say 'I told you so'. "But I love Casey too, and sometimes watching you gave me a chance to spend more time with her."_

_Even though she was a little too old for it, Marti stomped her foot. "Were you coming to see me or her?"_

"_I came to see you both," he answered, weakly, but honestly._

"_But I'm still your favorite girl right?" Her voice was loosing some of its spunk._

"_Now I have two favorite girls."_

"_No," Marti said, shaking her head sadly, "now you have one favorite girl." Looking up at him, her gaze almost seemed to hold a faint trace of pity, before she flounced over to where Lizzie and Edwin were. Her stance seemed to announce that she was no longer on 'team Derek'._

"_You see," George spoke up, like his point had just been proven, "you two have so many problems. You are inherently selfish; you have an excuse for everything you do."_

"_Casey wasn't always like this," Nora said, tearfully._

"_And Derek wasn't always this bad." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Hopefully, once we separate them, they'll return—_

"_Okay, that's it," Derek yelled, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "I'm through humoring you, we're"—he gestured to Casey—"through humoring you. We're adults and we're out of the house, so really, there is nothing you can do. If you don't want us together . . . tough shit." _

"_We'll cut you off," George threatened. _

"_Newsflash, dad, I have a full athletic scholarship." He held up a hand to stop the interruption he knew was coming. "And before you mention my apartment, remember that mom foots that bill."_

"_Yeah, and I wonder what she'd think about this."_

_George had meant to sound intimidating, but Derek had to laugh. _

"_Why don't we ask her?" He took an exaggerated look around the room. "Oh wait, we can't, because even though she was invited, she's too busy gallivanting around Rome or France or wherever the hell she is this month. Let's be for real, mom wouldn't care if I turned that apartment into a crack house as long as I didn't bother her while I was doing it." Derek didn't even sound that bitter when he spoke of his mother, just matter-of-fact._

"_Okay," George conceded, "but we do pay for Casey's room and board and for her books. So unless your mother is willing to offer both of you carte blanche to her bank account, I think Casey better reconsider these poor choices she's been making lately."_

_Derek smirked. "Try again. Casey can live with me, that solves room and board, and having to buy a few books isn't going to make her leave me."_

"_But you can't buy a new family," George warned. _

_The superior smirk fell from Derek's face when he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Derek, there is more than one way to cut someone off," George said, in all seriousness. "I can't," he sighed, "I just cannot deal with this." There was no threat or warning in his voice this time, just complete honesty. "I can't watch my son and a girl I consider to be a daughter be together in a romantic way. I don't advocate it, and I won't have it in my house."_

"_Then we'll just stay away from your house," Derek fairly growled. _

_But Casey had the feeling that he was using his anger to mask how much his father's words had hurt him. She'd gotten pretty good at reading Derek over the years, and she could tell that he was just as sad as he was angry._

"_I mean it, Derek. My feelings won't change in a few months- I don't want this type of thing going on under my roof."_

"_Wait, you're abjuring us?" Casey asked, disbelievingly. "Mother? Mom? Mommy?" Her voice was growing desperate; Casey was already estranged from one parent, she didn't want to be that way with her mother too. "B-b-but," she stuttered, "I'm still your little girl?"_

"_And I still love you," Nora assured her, nodding. "But I agree with George, I just can't support this type of thing. It's wrong."_

_Casey might have fallen out had it not been for Derek's supporting presence beside her._

"_You guys will have no one." George was trying to get through to them. "You'll be all alone."_

_When Casey, again, swept the crowd with her eyes, she knew the true meaning of "isolation." All the people who were there, all her supposed friends and family were looking at her like she was a stranger._

"_All alone," George reiterated. _

"_Not quite," Dennis said, finally joining the spectacle. He had been listening to and watching everything, and he had to admit that what he was witnessing was pretty unconventional but he was willing to look past all that._

_His liberalness wasn't due to the fact that he was just that "open" and it wasn't because he was some great romantic. No, his reason was far simpler than all that. A few months ago, he'd attended the funeral of an old high school buddy. It was a funeral, nothing spectacular had happened. People talked, people cried, and then it was over. But, Dennis couldn't help but be struck by how many people had attended the service. It had got him wondering just who would attend his funeral when he died. Would his daughters come? High school buddy's daughters had made very moving speeches. Would Casey and Lizzie do the same? He had taken them both for granted so much, especially Casey. She always tried to reach out to him, planning get togethers, vacations, but he always managed to forget them or mess them up. _

_He wanted to do better by them. He was trying to do better by them. That's why he was springing for this apparent sham of a wedding. That's why he had insisted on pre-wedding adjoining rooms for Casey and him. And that's why he walked purposely from his spot in the back of the room where he was holding up the wall to the stage area where his daughter was about two steps away from being publicly stoned._

_George seemed annoyed by his very presence. "This doesn't really concern you, Dennis."_

_Dennis really had to stop himself from hitting George. It wasn't even that Dennis hated the guy—he was a good father to his children and he usually treated his daughters well. But at that moment, he was being a colossal ass. _

"_You're making my daughter cry, I'd say that very much concerns me," he retorted. _

_George sighed. "I'm just trying to get through to her."_

"_No," Dennis shook his head, "you're trying to scare her into bending to your will by telling her they won't have anyone."_

"_I—_

"_But that's just a lie," Dennis's voice was flat, as he interrupted him. "They'll have me," he elaborated. The crowd gasped; most people who knew the McDonalds knew that their father was not the most involved parent. "When they need help they can call me. Hell, if they wanted to leave right now, I'd make it my personal mission to get them out of here."_

"_So, you're father of the year now?" George asked, mockingly._

"_Nope," he grinned, "I'm just a father who loves my kid."_

_George's eyes narrowed. "The implication being that I don't?"_

_Dennis simply shrugged in response. Turning towards Casey and Derek, whose mouths were open in shock, he said, "So what do you say we all get reacquainted?"_

_Casey ceased her death grip on Derek's hand, and ran into her father's arms._

"_Daddy, I—_

"_Shush," he quieted the sobbing girl, "its okay. We're all going to be okay."_

"Oh my God," Emily exclaimed. "So you and your dad must be," she broke off suddenly, realizing it was highly probable that Mr. McDonald had not lived up to his word. It wouldn't have been the first time.

"We're really close," Casey filled in, "we have been ever since." She smiled tremendously. "I mean, at the time I had no idea about his dead friend or anything, he told me all that stuff later. I swear," laughter bubbled from her throat, "at the time I thought he was possessed or something. He was definitely the last person I ever expected to stand up for us."

"Well, what about Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti? What happened with them?" Emily couldn't imagine that they were still on the outs; it wasn't like Casey had slept with any of their significant others.

Casey grimaced. "The lines of communication eventually opened back up, but things were never the same between any of us."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember how close Edwin and Lizzie were?"

"Yeah," Emily answered, readily. Those two had been thick as thieves.

"Well, my relationship with Derek really had a negative effect on their friendship." There was guilt in her voice, she still felt bad about what had happened to them. "George and my mom made Edwin transfer schools, and they really cut down on the amount of time the two of them could spend together. They were afraid to leave them alone together because they thought they'd follow our example. They couldn't see that Ed and Liz were just friends."

"So Edwin and Lizzie resented you and Derek for damaging their friendship?"

"Exactly," Casey confirmed. "And they could never support our relationship because it was the reason for their unhappiness. Add that to the fact that we lied to them for years, and they were pretty much through with us."

"And Marti?" she wondered aloud.

Casey shook her head. "She hates me, not Derek, just me."

Emily blinked at her bluntness.

"I don't think she cares that we're stepsiblings who got married," she clarified. "I think she sees me as the new girl in town who stole her brother's affections away from her. Marti always had a bit of a spoiled streak, and I just think she can't stand that she had to share Derek," Casey said, sharing her theory.

"But the two of you did use her," Emily pointed out. "Isn't it possible that she's just mad about that?"

"I'm sure she's upset about that too, but it's obvious that her problem lies specifically with me and not Derek." Emily looked skeptical, so Casey said, "Okay, every year she sends a Christmas card addressed to everyone but me."

"Maybe it's just an oversight."

"Humph, oversight my foot," she snorted, "The girl can't stand me."

Emily shrugged; it seemed to her that Casey was probably right.

"Well do any of y'all still communicate beyond the occasional card?" Emily wanted to know.

"We all exchange Christmas and birthday cards, we send lots of gifts to nieces and nephews and Nate and Shawn get gifts too, but that's about it." Casey shrugged. "Sometimes Derek and I will talk to Lizzie and Edwin on the phone, but not often. They've been to visit a couple of times- 'awkward' and 'uncomfortable' don't even begin to describe how those visits went."

"Jeez," Emily muttered. She couldn't imagine a life without her family, they were all incredibly close.

"What about your mom and George?"

Casey's expression darkened considerably. "If I ever see those two people again, it'd be too soon." Her voice was harsh. "They wanted to have me institutionalized."

"That's not exactly what they said." Emily was trying to be fair.

"You say tomato…" she let her voice trail off.

They were both silent for a moment as they took sips of their drinks.

"Oh my goodness," Emily exclaimed, having caught sight of her watch. "I've got to go, Lauren's cheering tonight and I promised to go watch."

"Lauren's a cheerleader?" Casey asked. She wouldn't really have expected that from Emily's daughter.

"Yeah." She laughed self-deprecatingly. "It looks like our kids really took after their fathers in the popularity department."

"True," Casey conceded, "but they got our startlingly good looks."

They both giggled at that.

"Hey, Case," Emily said, sobering, "thanks for telling me all that, I know it couldn't have been easy."

"You're welcome." Casey had to smile at the progress she seemed to be making with Emily. It was nice to know that she hadn't relived such a horrible memory in vain.

"Wanna get together sometime?" Casey blurted, before she could think better of it.

Emily squinted at her. "We're together now."

"I know. I mean, like do you want to do something other than sit and talk about the past? We could so something different, pleasurable."

"Umm . . . okay." Emily was skeptical, but, she figured, what the hell. Besides, if push came to shove and she really didn't want to do anything she could always just beg off. "Give me a call."

"Okay," Casey chirped, happily. She hadn't really expected Emily to go for it, but she was glad she had.

"Bye."

"Bye."

As she watched Emily exit the diner, Casey gave a grin. Things were getting better.

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N:** Did this suck? I don't think it did, but I'm hopped up on cough syrup and sinus pills so I could be wrong. This cold snuck up on me and is kicking my ass.

Let me know what you thought!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Okay, okay, I know there was another ridiculous wait for an update, but this time it wasn't my fault I swear. AT&T really needs to stop messing with my internet; it just started working again like yesterday. This chapter could have been up.

When Derek and Casey are talking there is a very subtle (almost nonexistent reference) to something that was mentioned in chapter one. Also, a _very_ small part of this chapter was inspired by the movie That Night.

Shout out to Amanda! I was glad to see you back.

**Disclaimer: **I did own LWD, but I lost it to the new girl in town. I just can't stop crying about it; I may even drown in my own tears.

OOOOOOOO

"Flowers?" Shawn's tone spoke to his incredulity. "That's your big gesture? You sent her some flowers?" When his brother called him up to his bedroom to talk Shawn knew it had to be about Lauren and whatever it was he was planning to do about his situation with her, but he'd been expecting something big and romantic not something small and, well, lame.

"Not some flowers," Nate corrected, "I sent her a flower."

"Jeez, Nate, this was kinda important." Shawn shook his head, maybe his brother wasn't as serious about this girl as he'd made out. But then again, maybe he should cut Nate some slack; there could be plenty of reasons why he'd cheaped out. "If you needed some money I could have helped you out."

"Please," his voice was cocky, "when have I ever been hard up for cash?"

"Okay, if you weren't broke then what's with the miserly gift?"

"Any girl can get a bunch of flowers, but there's something about a single rose that says--

"My boyfriend's cheap?" Shawn guessed, smartly.

"My boyfriend," he continued as if Shawn hadn't interrupted, "or in this case, the guy who is interested in me, cares enough to send one flower that means something instead of a dozen flowers that don't mean shit," he said, a little defensively. He wasn't used to people questioning his methods when it came to attracting girls, and, perhaps more importantly, he wasn't used to putting forth this much effort to get a girl's attention.

"Okay, okay, so you got her a flower. Was that it?"

"I sent her a note too," he replied, simply.

"Like the card that comes with flowers?"

"No," Nate shook his head, blushing slightly, "like a _note_ note."

"What, like: do you like me? Yes? No? Maybe?" He gave a hearty chuckle. "You've got to be kidding me. What are we five?" he asked, leaning back into his chair.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Nate sounded offended. "Give me a little credit."

Shawn cocked an eyebrow. There were only so many things a guy said in a note he was sending to a girl he liked but wasn't sure liked him. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "You didn't turn all romantic-comedy sappy guy on her, did you?"

"Uh, no," he said, and then had to laugh at the relieved look that splayed across Shawn's face. "It really didn't say too much." His tone was the epitome of ambiguity.

Shawn eyed him a moment, waiting on Nate to elaborate, and when it didn't happen he stood up, grumbling. "Are you seriously not gonna tell me what you wrote?"

"Nope, not until she calls me."

"How do you know she'll even call?" Shawn wanted to know.

The kiss he shared with Lauren ran through his mind. "Oh," he smirked, "she'll definitely call."

OOOO

Lauren wanted to meet up with Nathan like he'd suggested in the note he'd sent her, there was no doubt about that. The note may have been short and awkward, but the simple fact that he'd sent her anything and wanted to see her intrigued her quite a bit. She didn't know what to expect--she wasn't really expecting anything except a free meal--but she was definitely going.

But Lauren had a problem. Actually, she had quite a few problems. She just didn't know how she was going to get out of the house without having to explain where she was going. It wasn't her parents she was worried about--her mother was somewhere with Casey, and her father was watching a game at one of his friend's houses. Tony was home though, and he was almost more protective than her parents. And she was willing to bet cash money that he would have an opinion about her meeting Nate. It wasn't like he could really stop her from doing anything, but he could threaten to tell their parents if he found out and they _could_ stop her. So, she had to figure out a way to get out of the house without him knowing where she was going, which really meant that all she was going to have to do was lie, but she hated lying to Tony. But, she figured, sometimes people had to suck it up and do things they didn't like.

First things first though, she had to get in touch with Nathan. She'd been dreading calling him, Lauren didn't want to talk to him until they were face to face, so she decided to send him a text message. Maybe it was a little impersonal, she almost wondered if it was rude considering he'd taken the time to write her a note and send a rose, but that's what she did- she texted him. It hadn't said much, she just confirmed the time and place and thanked him for the flower.

Just as she was closing her phone, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called.

"Hey, Ren," Tony greeted, as he walked in her room.

"What's up?" she asked. He had on his letterman's jacket, but she didn't want to assume too much, she couldn't possibly be that lucky.

"Bam and Johnny are outside, we're about to go hang out for a while." He tossed her the keys to the car they shared. "I'll leave you the keys in case you want to go somewhere."

"Umm thanks." Apparently this was her lucky day; she didn't even have to come up with a plausible lie now.

"Even if you stay home I want you to lock the door as soon as I leave," he told her.

She had to roll her eyes at the serious tone of his voice. He couldn't possibly think that someone was just gonna walk into their house and accost her, the very idea of it was ridiculous. But she humored him anyway, nodding her head- anything to get him to leave the house.

Saying, "bye," he turned and left her room. Seconds later Lauren heard the front door shut and then a car engine starting up. She couldn't believe how fortuitous this was; thank God for Bam and Johnny, now she didn't even have to sneak out.

OOOO

"I can't believe I'm at a skating rink," Emily mumbled to herself while she watched Casey give their shoe sizes to the attendant behind the skate rental counter. When Casey had pulled into Donny's Roller Palace Emily hadn't been able to believe her eyes. Out of all the activities she thought Casey might've chosen, roller skating had been the furthest from her mind; she didn't even know Casey knew how to roller skate.

"Here you go," Casey said, voice chipper, as she walked up to Emily and handed her a pair of skates.

"Thanks," her voice lacked enthusiasm. When she took a look around the room at the rink's other occupants, her already high level of discomfort doubled. "Umm, why are we here on a day other than their throwback day?"

"Oh, so you've been here before?" Casey asked, surprised. The rink was in the middle of nowhere; she was actually quite surprised at the number of people that were there.

"No, but it's a roller skating rink, they all have an old people day." She regarded the young crowd again. "And today obviously isn't it."

"Well, so what?" She sat down on a bench and began putting on her skates. "You're here to have fun right?" She continued without waiting for an answer, "then let's have fun."

Emily was actually only there to be polite, if she had any fun it'd just be a bonus. Sighing, she sat down and began putting on her own skates. They were already there so she figured she might as well suck it up and try to enjoy herself.

OOOO

"If you don't know how to skate," Emily said, trying hard not to laugh at her companion's disoriented state, "then why'd you want to come here?"

"I'm a perfect ice skater, how was I supposed to know that the skills wouldn't transfer?" she said, defensively, before stumbling again.

"Umm, I don't know, common sense?" she guessed, succumbing to laughter as Casey clutched the outer rail for balance.

"Ugh, how come you're so good anyway?" She didn't need any fingers to count the number of times she remembered Emily ever having gone roller skating.

"Well, from about the time I was five until I was thirteen my cousin Sharon had every one of her birthday parties at the rink." She started skating backwards to demonstrate her point.

Casey grunted. "Show off."

"It's not so hard," Emily told her. "Here," she grabbed her arm, "I'll show you."

Tentatively, Casey let go of the rail and began following Emily's directions. It took a while, but Casey eventually got the hang of it; she wasn't as good as Emily, but at least she could now stop without falling on her ass.

"So was the last time you went skating at your cousin's thirteenth birthday party?" Casey asked. It was hard to believe that Emily could remain so good after being inactive for so many years.

"No," she said, flatly.

"Well, then when was it?" She wasn't looking at Emily so she didn't see the way her face had become emotionless at the question, but they were still sort of holding onto each other so she did feel her body stiffen. "Emily?" she questioned, confused.

Emily really didn't feel like having this conversation. Today was supposed to be a past free day and there was no way that was going to happen if their conversation continued down this path. Sure, she'd been a little upset when she stepped into the rink, but Emily thought she had hidden that fact and the reasons behind it pretty well. But there was no chance of her being able to continue doing so if Casey insisted they talk about this.

"Emily," Casey stopped skating and took a good look at her companion, "what's wrong?"

Realizing that Casey wasn't just about to let it drop, Emily decided to tell her. "The last time I was in a roller skating rink I was with Derek." She paused for a moment letting the information sink in. "He told me he loved me for the first time."

"Oh . . . Umm, oh." Casey didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Yeah, it surprised me too when it happened." She laughed hollowly. "We were just skating around; I think he was telling me about Abby--

"His mother?" Casey asked disbelievingly, eyes wide as saucers. Derek hardly ever talked about his mother, and the rare times that he did it was always with her; she couldn't imagine him and Emily discussing Abby.

"Yeah, he was telling me about her taking him skating when he was a kid or something, and then, kind of out of the blue, he told me he loved me. I said it back, and well that's about it I guess." She shrugged.

"Wait, so he said I love you and you said it back?" Emily nodded, but Casey still felt like she was missing something, something important, something that was staring her right in the face.

Emily could see why Casey was so shocked. "I would've never expected him to say it first either, but I was glad he had. Even though I knew I loved him, I had promised myself that I wouldn't say it until he said it first. I didn't want to scare him off or anything," she explained. It sounded a little silly now, but back then she hadn't wanted to take any chances that might end with her losing Derek even if it meant she couldn't be honest with him about her feelings.

That was it--that was what she was missing. Casey just couldn't compute what she was hearing. Derek just wasn't the emotional type. "He said it first?" she squeaked out.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Don't get me wrong though, every time he said it after that first time I practically had to drag the words out his mouth; he would only tell me if I told him first, like he thought he had to or something."

Now that sounded more like the Derek she knew, but she still couldn't believe that he had told Emily he loved her before she ever said it.

"Let's just forget it," Emily said suddenly. She didn't want to talk about it, she didn't want to think about it, and she certainly didn't want to remember, and from the expression on Casey's face it was more than obvious that she didn't want to hear about it. So she decided to put them both out of their misery. "We came to skate, so let's skate." Pushing off on her wheels, she called over her shoulder, "catch me if you can."

Why was Casey upset? She really didn't know. How many times had she told Sam she loved him when they were together? It was only natural to tell your boyfriend or girlfriend that you loved them. She was being silly, yeah, that was it exactly- she was just being silly. Emily was right; they came to skate, and skate she would. And she was definitely not going to ask Derek about this. She wouldn't even bring it up.

OOOO

"Were you ever really in love with Emily?"

Derek spit out the juice he'd just taken a sip of and started coughing loudly.

Walking up behind him, Casey gave him a couple of slaps on the back; they were just hard enough to let him know that she wasn't trying to help him.

"Excuse me?" He asked, once the coughing subsided. Moving away from her, he backed up and leaned against the counter.

"Judging by your reaction I'd say you heard me just fine." She folded her arms across her chest. "It's a simple question really, and now I'd like an answer."

He looked at her a moment, trying to gauge just how serious she was. She was very serious. "No," he answered, voice flat, "I was never in love with Emily."

"But you told her you loved her?"

Now he was really confused. Either Casey had contracted a case of amnesia or he was missing something here. "Yeah. And you used to tell Sam you loved him. So what?"

"So the first time I told Sam I loved him I meant it. But the first time you told Emily you loved her she wasn't expecting you to say it, she hadn't asked you, and there really hadn't been a reason for you to say it unless you meant it. So why'd you say it?"

Derek didn't have to think about his answer, he knew why he'd said it, but he didn't know if he wanted to tell Casey. He didn't know if she wanted to hear it. When they were younger she hated hearing about his relationship with Emily, and although he totally understood her feelings, he wished they had been able to talk about it back then so they wouldn't have to now.

"I was never in love with Emily, but she was my friend and I loved her as such."

"Friend?" She shook her head. "You two were friends?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I could talk to her about stuff--

"Like your mother?" she asked, interrupting.

"So she told you about that? Well, it doesn't really matter." He shrugged again. "Yeah, we talked about Abby, and school, and hockey, we just talked about whatever. When you and I weren't speaking or when you were too busy with Sam I could talk to Emily. I was an ass to her and I was more than cavalier with her feelings, but she was special to me, and, yeah in a way I did love her."

Casey supposed she could understand that. After awhile, even though she wasn't in love with Sam anymore she had still had feelings for him and cared about him that was a big part of the reason it had taken her so long to commit to Derek. It was just weird knowing that Derek had actually loved Emily; she couldn't picture him loving anyone but her. Sure, she had always assumed he'd had a soft spot for Emily, maybe even was attracted to her, but the thought that he actually loved the girl, in any capacity--friend or otherwise--had truly never occurred to her. And now that she knew Derek's true feelings for Emily her mind was going in all directions.

"So," she cleared her throat, "let's say I didn't exist--you and I never met--and for whatever reason you stated dating Emily back in high school do you think you could have fallen in love with her if I was out of the equation?" Even as she asked the question, Casey knew it was unfair and a bad idea, but she couldn't stop herself from being curious because up until that very moment she never would've thought that Emily would have had a shot with Derek if it hadn't been for the fact that he was trying to make her jealous.

Derek hadn't really ever considered what Casey was asking, because there was a Casey, she did exist, and she was definitely part of the equation. What did any of this matter anyway? It was totally moot. He almost got the feeling that she was just trying to pick a fight because she was mad at him for never having told her that he told Emily he loved her first. Too bad for her, he was certainly not in the mood to argue about something that was so irrelevant it was laughable.

"I'm not going to do this," he shook his head, "we're not going to argue."

"Derek, I'm not trying to pick--

He held up a hand to silence her. "I'm going upstairs to read the paper, and hopefully my existent wife who I am in love with, who is the only woman I have ever been in love with, will come up and join me once she's done being neurotic."

"But, Derek," she was talking to his back as he walked out the room, "I really want to discuss this; we need to talk about it," she insisted.

"No," he turned around, sighing, "we don't. What's there to discuss? Yeah, I loved Emily, I loved her like you loved her; I loved her like a friend."

He still hadn't really answered her question and she just couldn't accept that. "But--

"Jeez," he fairly growled, "you're not gonna drop this are you?"

"No," she said, unrepentantly.

"Always the drama queen," he mumbled. "Fine, if you really want to know, chances are I never would've gotten to know her well enough to love her if you hadn't been around."

Her eyes widened in realization.

"Mmmm, now do you get it?" he asked, mockingly. "I got to love her because of you, and I could never be in love with her because of you," he said. "Ugh," he sent her an annoyed look, "I'm going to bed," he told her before quitting the room.

Okay, so Casey knew she'd gotten on his nerves and he'd probably be mad for the rest of the night, but it was totally worth it. She simply couldn't help herself- when it came to Derek she was very greedy. Knowing that she was it for him--that she'd always been it for him--was worth the couple of hours of silent treatment she'd probably have to endure. Actually, things were pretty good, tomorrow he'd bounce back and they'd be the happy couple once again, and she and Emily, despite the few bumps they'd encountered that afternoon, were doing better than she ever could've hoped for. As long as no more unexpected curveballs came their way things would be just fine.

OOOO

"You look funny?" Nate wanted to smack himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth; he was usually smoother than that. Lauren actually looked great, but she'd had this weird look in her eyes for the past few minutes.

They were at a burger joint in neutral territory, a.k.a. it was located about halfway between both of their homes. It was supposed to make them both comfortable, but they had been sitting in silence, albeit not exactly an uncomfortable silence, but silence nonetheless, for the past five minutes.

"I feel funny," Lauren was speaking honestly, against her better judgment. "Being here with you like this feels oddly comforting and familiar, and for the life of me I can't figure out why." She shrugged, giggling. "Hmm, maybe we were lovers in a past life or something," she joked, trying to take some of the weight away from her earlier statement.

"You believe in stuff like that?" It was hard for him to fathom; she really didn't seem the type.

She shrugged again. "I believe in almost anything."

"Like love at first sight?" He said it jokingly, but once he'd asked he really wanted to know the answer.

"More like anything but love at first sight."

"Good." He grinned. "I don't believe in it either," he told her. And he meant it. How could someone possibly love another without knowing anything about them? On the other hand, he believed in lust at first sight, and there was always a chance for lust to morph into love.

"Good," she echoed, returning his smile.

They just sat there, grinning dopily at each other until the waitress finally brought their drinks.

As Lauren wrapped her lips around her straw and began drinking her Pepsi, Nate became a little mesmerized by the sight of it. It was while he was mesmerized by a couple of lips he longed so badly to kiss that he slipped up, yet again, and asked her something he hadn't meant to.

"Why'd you come?" Sure, he'd known that she was attracted to him, but despite whatever he'd told his little brother Nate hadn't been sure that Lauren would really show up.

"Why'd you ask me to come?"

"I asked first."

"True, but I asked the better question."

He thought about that a moment before inclining his head. "Okay, I asked because I'm interested in you--

She laughed lightly. "I always thought 'I'm interested in you' was just guy speak for 'I'm into you'."

"Are you into me?" he countered.

"Maybe. The jury's still out."

"Maybe that's why you came," he said thoughtfully, "so the jury could reach a verdict."

Cocking a perfectly arched eyebrow, Lauren said, "And maybe you asked me to meet you because you _are_ into me and you wondered if I felt the same way."

"Do you?" he pressed.

She leaned forward, feeling oddly empowered by his obvious eagerness to know her feelings. "What do you think?"

"I think," he had to blow out an appreciative breath at how truly beautiful she was, "we should definitely hang out again." He decided to forgo playing their game for the moment, right then, with her perfect lips so close and her pretty green eyes sparkling, he just wanted to make sure that he'd get to see her again, and soon.

"Hang out?" She scrunched up her nose. "I don't think so. Now, if you planned on taking me out, like on a real date, something could definitely be arranged as long as you plan on taking me someplace nice."

For a moment Nate couldn't do anything except stare blankly at her. Sure, he "dated" lots of girls, but he rarely took girls out on actual dates. A date for him consisted of either sitting on the girl's couch or bed while one of his hands held a beer and the other felt her up. Or sometimes if he was hanging out with a bunch of his friends a group of girls would show up and one of them would stake her claim for the night. That's what he was used too and that's what he liked.

Despite all of that though, he found himself telling her, "We'll go wherever you want; first dates are supposed to be special right?"

The smile she leveled him with then let him know that he'd definitely said the right thing.

**TBC…**

**A/N: **Hate it? Love it? Drop me a line and let me know!


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Flashbacks and stressed words are in italics.

**Disclaimer:** Right.

OOOOOOOO

"Let's dance," Lauren said, perkily.

She and Nate were sitting in some pizza place she'd never been before, but Nathan frequented often. He seemed to know a lot of people there, or at least that's the impression she'd gotten when they'd received so many stares as they walked through the door.

Foreign territory though it was, Lauren wasn't uncomfortable. The food was great and whoever was lording over the jukebox had perfect taste in music. And right then the self-appointed DJ was playing a song that by all rights, nobody in the place sans the owner should've known; but Lauren as a result of her parent's "my car, my radio station rule" knew and loved the song. Maybe mystery jukebox guy's parents had the same rule.

"Umm, no," Nate said, slowly. Even if he had recognized the slow tune that was wafting through the joint, which he didn't, Nate wasn't about to get up and make an ass out of himself by dancing to it. They may have already been on five dates over the course of only two weeks, but he still felt it was a little early for him to be embarrassing himself in front of her.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "What don't tell me you're one of those 'I don't dance' guys?"

"No," he shook his head, "I'm just one of those 'I don't slow dance to sappy ballads in front of a room full of people' guys," he said smartly.

"Forget those people," she said, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Besides, I'll be the only one watching you." Even as she said it, Lauren knew it was probably a lie.

Who was she kidding? These people would be watching his every move, they always were. He didn't really mind it, but sometimes his popularity did make it hard to take certain, umm, risks.

"Sorry," he told her. "Maybe we can dance to the next fast one."

She clucked her tongue. "You don't even have to really dance to a fast song; all the guy does is stand behind the girl while she grinds up against him."

"I'm sorry," he said in mock confusion, "was that supposed to make me _not_ want to fast dance with you?" Really, the girl needed to think of another way to help her case.

"Oh, come on Nate, please," she asked, pouting prettily.

His resolve almost broke when she pouted, but he held fast; there was no way he was about to get up and slow dance. The song had to almost be over anyway.

He shook his head again. "Sorry, baby."

Now she was really pouting. This was the extended live version of the song and he was totally ruining it for her. There were at least three good minutes of dancing left, and Lauren was determined to put them to use.

"Fine," she told him, shrugging. "I'll just have to find somebody else to dance with then." Turning her head, she began scanning the room for potential partners.

If it had of been any other girl except Lauren, Nate wouldn't have batted an eyelash. Even though they probably wanted him to, he didn't keep his girls on a short leash. But Lauren was different. Nate didn't want her dancing with anyone else.

Too late. She was already up and talking to some guy- James Smith. Nate actually liked James, they were buddies, but he didn't like the way James pulled Lauren onto the dance floor and he certainly didn't like how close they were standing as they swayed to the music.

Shit. He could sense it before it even happened- as much as he hoped otherwise, he was about to make a scene.

It only took a moment for Nate to make it to the dancing couple. James' back was to him, so he tapped him on the shoulder. James looked put out at being interrupted, that is until he realized who'd done the tapping.

"Nate, man," he rushed out, having taken in his friend's angry demeanor, "I just, uh, I thought--

"It's cool." Nate reached for Lauren and in a second he and James had switched places. "Don't worry about it."

As James made his way back to his table, Nate began, somewhat grudgingly, dancing with Lauren.

"Nice strategy," he commented, trying to gauge if she'd been hoping to make him jealous.

"It got you dancing didn't it?" she asked, smiling.

Opting not to answer, Nate simply pulled her closer. As embarrassing moments went, it could've been way worse. In fact, he was just starting to rethink his position on slow dances--anything that got him this close to Lauren couldn't be all bad--when he caught James' eye.

His friend's eyes widened before quickly looking away.

Nate frowned; he was going to have to take care of that. It had been an honest mistake. He and his cronies weren't medieval about it or anything, but they kinda shared and shared alike when it came to girls. And as far as anyone there knew this was Nate's first date with Lauren; James had probably assumed Nate and her were done for the day and she was up for grabs. The boy simply hadn't known any better, but now he did.

The song melded into another slow tune that Nate didn't recognize. He was definitely ready to quit the floor, but when Lauren looked up at him with those big green eyes he found himself staying exactly where he was.

"Thanks," she whispered, before resting her head on his shoulder.

As soon as the song ended, Nate reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and handed Lauren a couple of dollar bills.

When Lauren sent him a confused look, he said, "as much as I like feeling like I've got one foot in the grave, maybe you could go pick a couple of songs that don't make me feel like I'm seventy."

She giggled softly. "Fine, I guess you were a pretty good sport." Not too many people her age would listen to Prince without complaining.

"Hey, if I'm not at our table when you're done I'll be over there." He pointed to a booth in the back of the room that held a few guys, her earlier dance partner included.

"Alright," she said, before walking off in the direction of the jukebox.

As Nathan headed towards his friends' booth he got more than a few curious looks, but they didn't faze him; everything would be cleared up pretty soon.

Upon reaching their table, Nate pulled up a chair and sat down. He was about to break the awkward silence that'd set in, but his friend, Mikey, beat him to it.

"So, uh, who's the girl? Is she new or something?"

"Or something; she's my mom's friend's daughter," he explained.

Most of his friends knew at least a little about Nate's parent's past, so it was kind of hard for them to imagine his mother had many, if any, friends. But nobody questioned his explanation, they all knew better than to dig into his parents business. The few who had ever tried hadn't fared well.

Another friend, Kenny, chuckled lightly. "It just figures, you've run through all the hot girls in our school, so now you're importing them in from out of town."

Nate smiled good naturedly, but he didn't want them to get too off track; he'd come over there for a reason.

"Look, James, about what happened earlier," he scratched the back of his neck, "it wasn't personal--

"It's okay," he interrupted, "I get it." He looked around the table, smiling conspiratorially. "I think everyone in here gets it."

He looked around at his friends, who all suddenly looked ready to burst. "What?" he asked, confused.

Tommy grinned. "Nate, you've had us dance with girls of yours before just so you wouldn't have to," he reminded him. "Yet, you just cut in on one of your buddies and slow danced--which none of us have ever even seen you do before--to two songs with this chick." When Nate continued to look blank, he told him, "You practically declared her off limits."

"Did I?"

"Dude, you know you did," Mikey said.

Nate shrugged, but inwardly he was pleased. He had been hoping that people would get the message without him having to actually say anything; he'd only come to talk to James because they were friends.

He leaned forward in his seat. "Maybe you guys could help me spread the word. I'll probably be bringing her around a lot," he clarified, "and I don't want there to be any confusion. You know what I'm saying?"

They all nodded.

"So, is she your girlfriend or what?" James said, asking the question they'd all been wondering.

Was she his girlfriend? That remained to be seen. But, as of now, she was a girl he wanted solely to himself and he didn't want there to be any misunderstanding about that.

As if on cue, Lauren appeared at the table before he could answer.

"Hi," she greeted, smiling brightly.

She was met with a chorus of "Hellos".

She pinched Nate's arm, reminding him of his manners.

"Oh, uh, baby this is Tommy, Mikey, and you know James already." He'd pointed to each of them as he said their names. "Guys, this is Lauren."

Lauren gave a little wave. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, but if you don't mind I'm gonna steal your friend back for a while longer." She tugged on his ear playfully. "I wasn't done playing with him."

"Sorry guys," Nate said without sounding the least bit remorseful, "duty calls."

Rising from his seat, he tossed an arm around her shoulder and led her back to their table.

"I guess that answers the girlfriend question," James said, as the couple walked away.

OOOO

First there'd been the skating, and then they'd gone bowling, played pool, even went to a bar. She'd been having fun, so it'd taken Emily a while to realize what Casey was doing- she was trying to stall. The reason for their meetings was slowly becoming nonexistent. Once Casey told her about marrying Derek there really wouldn't be anything else to discuss; Emily didn't need to hear about anything that had taken place after their marriage.

Their initial agreement had pretty much been for Casey to tell her how the two of them had ended up married to each other. And unless Emily was mistaken that had to be what the next installment was going to consist of.

She'd seen Casey plenty of times during the past two weeks, but never once had they discussed the past. Whenever Emily tried to bring it up, Casey would change the subject or suggest they do something else. In fact, today they were supposed to be going to see a movie, but at the last minute Emily had called and insisted that they go out to lunch instead.

So there she was, sitting in a restaurant who's prices exceeded how good the food actually was, waiting on Casey to show up.

Not a second past their scheduled meeting time, Casey slid into the seat across from her.

"Hi," Casey said, somewhat breathlessly.

"Hi." Beat. "Tell me about marrying Derek," she said, without any preliminaries.

Casey pretended she hadn't heard. "We could probably still catch that movie."

"We can see the movie next week."

That certainly caught Casey's attention.

"That's what you're worried about right? You think that once we're done with your story I won't want to meet up with you anymore," she said, thoughtfully. Emily had been thinking about this since she'd figured out what Casey was doing and why she was doing it, and even though she had run the words she was about to say through her mind about fifty thousand times, she still had the feeling she was about to make an awful mistake. "But you don't have to worry; I've sorta grown accustomed to these odd little meetings."

"So . . ." Casey gestured for her to continue and hopefully give her some good news.

"So, I'll see you next week at the movies." That was all she was going to say about that- Casey was a smart cookie she could figure it out. "Now tell me about marrying Derek," Emily repeated.

"Okay," Casey said, sounding way happier. And she was happy; it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "There's really not too much to tell, but if you wanna know…

_Dennis had dropped them off at Derek's apartment only minutes earlier. The ride over had been filled with silence--really, there hadn't been anything left to say. The only words were uttered when Dennis told them to call if they needed anything and they assured him they would._

_Now, there they sat--quiet, confused, and frightened--on Derek's couch, wondering just what the hell they were going to do next._

"_Let's get married," Derek said, suddenly._

"_Huh?" Casey sounded dazed. _

"_Tomorrow," he paused, gathering her hands in his own, "let's get married tomorrow."_

"_We can't," she said, morosely. _

"_Why not?" he pressed. "We've both already had our blood tests." He was getting excited. "We can just go to the courthouse tomorrow and get married. You don't even need an appointment."_

_She gave him an odd look. "How do you know?"_

_He shrugged. "I may have looked into it."_

'Well, maybe,'_ she thought, but ended up shaking her head and removing her hands from his grasp. "We should probably wait--_

"_Why," he cut in; in his opinion there was no logical reason to wait. "It's not like we can plan a big wedding. Even if we could afford it, which we can't, nobody would come. No matter when we get married we'll be the only ones there. In fact, if we get married tomorrow at least your father can be there."_

_He had a point. Who knew when her father would be back in town again. But . . ._

"_Maybe if we waited long enough our parents would come around. I mean," she shrugged, "they have to get over it eventually." _

_Glancing at her incredulously, he gave a hash laugh. "Do I have to remind you what they wanted to do to us?"_

_She shook her head. He didn't have to remind her; she doubted she'd ever be able to forget it no matter how hard she tried. In fact, what she'd just said was just a momentary slip; even if her mother did ask for forgiveness one day, Casey was pretty sure she wouldn't give it. _

"_So why can't we get married?" he asked again._

"_I think," she started rubbing her head, feeling a migraine coming on, "that we need to wait. It's," she sighed, "it's just too soon."_

"_Too soon," he scoffed, "we've been together for years."_

"_No, not that." She shook her head. "We just broke up with Sam and Emily," she said, simply. "Don't you think us getting married tomorrow would be just a little," she paused, searching for the right word, "callous on our part?"_

_It was easy to see Derek was far more subdued when he grabbed her hands for the second time. _

"_What I think is, it'd seem pretty callous if we got married in thirty years, thirty days, or thirty minutes," he told her gently. "We're gonna be the bad guys in this, plain and simple. But we might as well be happy bad guys."_

"_Well . . ._

"_Look at it this way, we've been spending the past few years doing whatever we wanted, other people be damned, so why stop now?" He brushed the hair out of her face. "What do you say?"_

_He had another good point. The time to care about Sam's and Emily's feelings was long gone. They'd lost their friends, their family, and a good chunk of their self-respect. They had Dennis and, in an ass backwards way they had Abby, but neither her father or his mother could be counted on to always be there. The only people they could really count on were each other. All they had was each other. _

"_I say . . . let's get married tomorrow."_

_OO_

"_Do I look okay?" _

"_Yes; you look great," Derek told her for the fiftieth time._

_She knew she was probably getting annoying, but Casey just never imagined she would be wearing a strapless red dress to her wedding. Though, since practically everyone she knew now thought she was a slut, she figured it was only right that she look the part. The red dress was the nicest piece of clothing she'd had in her honeymoon luggage, and most of her other things were boxed up at her mother's house, where they'd been waiting to be taken to the apartment she was going to share with Sam. They'd been scheduled to move into an apartment near her campus, since he'd been planning to transfer to her school. That reminded her, she was now going to have to add lease breaking to her list of crimes. _

"_Are you sure?" she asked, again. _

"_Yeah," he smiled at her, "you look amazing." He kissed her on the cheek. "Now, you need to relax."_

"_How can I relax?" She started pacing again. "The one person we invited to the wedding, my dad, isn't here yet and we're up next."_

_Derek had been right about how easy it was to get married by a judge. They'd simply walked into the courthouse and been pointed in the right direction by the woman at the information desk. Already having their blood tests helped a lot too. After a clerk confirmed their results with their doctors by phone, he sent them to the appropriate court room, informing them that Judge Wapner would be able to marry them as soon as he finished with the couple he was currently with_.

"_Your dad will make it," he assured her. _

"_How do you know?" Pouting, she folded her arms._

"'_Cause, 'cause," he paused, having caught sight of something, "there he is." Derek pointed down the hallway._

"_Daddy," Casey squealed as Dennis reached the couple, "you made it."_

"_Of course I did," he said, hugging her. "And," he pulled away, "I come bearing gifts."_

"_A present?" she said happily, reaching for the box in his hands. _

"_Yeah," he grinned, "I figured that you might not have a ring to wear, so--_

"_Aww, dad," she exclaimed, tearing into the box, "you shouldn't have," she said, with considerably less enthusiasm when she saw the ring._

"_I know you love mood rings--_

'Yeah, I loved mood rings when I was five.'

"_--so I thought it'd be perfect."_

_Derek was trying to smother his laughter, but Casey, though she was a little disappointed, thought the ring was cute. Theirs was going to be an odd little union, so she might as well have an odd little ring. And, maybe, one day she'd be able to upgrade. _

"_It's great, dad." She hugged him again._

"_Yeah, thanks Dennis," Derek walked over and shook his hand, "you've really done a lot for us the past couple of days and we appreciate it," he told him in all seriousness._

"_It was my pleasure," he assured them. "Now," he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "how much longer do we have until the wedding?"_

"_Not long," a blond haired woman said, from the room's doorway, "the judge is ready for you now."_

_Dennis led the way into the courtroom, radiating with father-of-the-bride nerves, while Casey and Derek lingered behind. _

"_Are you ready for this Princess?" Derek asked, giving her one last chance to back out._

_She stopped walking and palmed the sides of his face, kissing him deeply. "I'm ready, Derek. Let's go get married."_

"About ten minutes, a few tears, and a couple of signatures later, we were legally married." Casey smiled at the memory. "We haven't been apart since."

"Hmmm," was Emily's only response.

"Okay, so how pissed are you that we only waited a day to get married?" Casey asked, bluntly. They might as well get down to brass tacks.

"Pretty pissed," Emily admitted, then shrugged, "but as much as it pains me to admit it, Derek was right. There really wouldn't have been any point in waiting."

"Well," Casey spoke, after a moment, "now what?"

"Actually, I do have a couple of more questions for you," Casey perked up, "but I think we should finally order and eat before we're kicked out or something."

"But--

"We can talk about it next week before the movie," Emily said, interrupting her.

Casey smiled shakily. "You're really going to go to the movies with me next week?" She couldn't help but ask again, she really hadn't thought they'd made that type of progress.

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but--

"Okay then, let's leave it at that." She blew out a breath. "Tell me about your job or something."

"Okay," Casey agreed, trying not to grin like an idiot.

And there they sat, eating lunch and talking about something other than the past or Casey's fear of loosing Emily's companionship. It got awkward at times, and there were prolonged silences, but Casey was happy; apparently she had worn Emily down at least a little. Hey, they were seeing a movie next week- that had to count for something. Maybe it was just gonna be smooth sailing from that point on.

OOOO

The crowd at the pizza place had dwindled slightly, but Nate and Lauren were still lingering over their sodas. Their date was quickly coming to an end, but Nate didn't want to leave just yet, not with so many things still up in the air.

When his friends asked him if Lauren was his girlfriend it had really got him thinking. He'd never had a girlfriend before, hell he'd never even had a friend who was a girl; what he did have was a bunch of girls he was "friendly" with. But he wanted to do more with Lauren than just fool around. Oddly enough, he actually enjoyed talking to her and just hanging out. The fooling around was definitely cool too, but they were more than that. At least to him.

How did one even go about asking someone to be their girlfriend? Did he just ask her? Was their a certain protocol or something? Aww, to hell with it . . . When had he ever followed the rules anyway.

"So, you wanna be my girl or what?" he blurted out.

Lauren jaw dropped and she just stared at him wearing an owlish look for a moment, before busting out laughing.

"What?" He was taken aback--out of all the reactions he could've foreseen, this wasn't one of them.

"You should write love songs, Hallmark cards," she giggled, "romance novels even."

"Lauren." He was blushing.

"No, No." She was still laughing and struggling to catch her breath. "I mean, you really pulled out the romantic big guns for that. Is that how you asked your previous girlfriends out?"

"No," he shook his head, "I've never had a girlfriend."

She'd assumed as much simply from the reaction their dancing had gotten from his peers, but she got some weird thrill out of hearing him say it.

"That explains a lot," she said, sobering. When she noticed his sour expression she rolled her eyes. "Come on, how would you like it if I said," she lowered her voice comically, "so, you wanna be my guy or what?"

He shrugged. "Honestly," he looked her dead in the eyes, "I'd like it. I'd like it a lot, 'cause I like you a lot," he explained. He'd been making an ass out of himself all day, he figured he might as well continue doing so.

"Really?" she asked, somewhat breathlessly. His voice had been all deep and raspy and just plain hot. Plus he had this incredible way of looking at her like she was the only person in the room. '_Damn,'_ she thought, _'maybe he should write romance novels.'_

He leaned across the table and kissed her. It was soft and sweet, but it still managed to make her feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Really," he told her. "So," he grabbed her hand and began toying with her fingers, something else he'd never done before, "do you want to be my girl or what?"

Lauren bit her lip, nodding. "Yeah, I want to be your girl." She leaned forward and gave him a kiss of her own. Actually, it was taking everything in her not to jump him--she wasn't even sure why, but right then he was like oozing sexiness. She wasn't exactly one for public make out sessions, but who knows how long they would've gone on kissing if they hadn't been interrupted by someone tactfully clearing their throat.

Breaking apart and catching sight of the intruder, Lauren didn't know who he was, but Nathan did.

"Lauren, this is my little brother, Shawn. Shawn this is my girlfriend, Lauren." He must've made the right decision, 'cause he sure got a kick out of saying that.

Shawn had to resist the urge to roll his eyes and strangle his brother. This was not what they'd discussed at all. But he'd been raised right, so he shook the hand she offered and smiled.

"Hey, Lauren, it's nice to meet you. Uhh, can I talk to my brother alone for a second?" he asked her politely.

"Sure," she said, slowly, looking back and forth between the two of them. _'Wild guess: they're going to talk about me.'_ "I'm just gonna go to the ladies room." She stood then and headed for the restroom.

Once Lauren was out of sight, Shawn slapped his brother on the back of the head and slid into the booth across from him.

"What the hell was that for?" Nate asked, looking around to make sure nobody had seen.

"Explain something to me," he shook his head, "maybe I'm a little slow, but I need you to explain something to me."

Nate regarded him expectantly.

"How is bringing Lauren to one of the most popular hangouts in town keeping it between the two of us? Huh?" He sounded angry. "We discussed this and we agreed that it would be better if everyone didn't know, if mom didn't know," he stressed.

"Oh my god," Nate cringed dramatically, "mom's here?"

Shawn rolled his eyes at his brother's theatrics. "No, but--

"So mom's not here?" He paused. "Then you must think that somebody here is gonna call her up and tell her?"

"No, maybe, hell I don't know." Shawn was exasperated. "All I know is you just, intentionally or not, announced to a room full of people that you were dating this girl. That's how secrets get found out," he said, voice intense. "You tell one person, who mentions it to another, who'll tell somebody else, and so on and so forth."

"Calm down, little brother." Nate sounded completely at ease. "There is no way mom and dad are gonna find out. Think about it--think about all the stuff I've done and gotten away with. The odds are in my favor."

Shawn was slightly appeased, but still worried. "But--

"And, it's not like I'm taking her to the type of places mom and dad frequent."

'_That's true, but . . .'_ he thought. "Okay," he sighed, "but maybe you should just tell mom and dad the truth before they find out on their own."

"Look," Nate said, sounding annoyed, "when everything between our family and the Shepherds is at least partially settled, then we'll tell our parents. But, for right now, we have to keep this thing between Lauren and me quiet. You understand?"

Shawn threw up his hands. "Hey, I'm not gonna tell? I'm in favor of _not_ getting yelled at."

"Alright then, relax. Everything's gonna be cool."

Shawn hoped his brother was right, but he had this nagging feeling that he wasn't.

**TBC . . . **

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N: **I'm no legal buff, but my sister was married in a courthouse so that part should be at least partially accurate.

Hate it? Like it? Drop me a line and let me know what you thought.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** The wait this time was entirely my fault: I've been in a Degrassi induced stupor since last Saturday. The N has been showing every episode ever; for someone who had never watched before it was heaven.

I only proofread this thing once (I usually do a few times) so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

**Disclaimer:** I bought LWD the other day from the guy who sells those magic beans.

OOOOOOOO

As Lauren finally reached the branch by her window, she couldn't help but smile triumphantly. It had been a pain in the ass, but somehow she'd managed to climb the tree on the side of her house without falling to her death. Now all she had to do was quietly push open her window and she'd be home free.

"Yes," she whispered, sliding one leg through the window, "I made--

"Hey, Ren," Tony said, voice cool as a cucumber, as if there was nothing weird about him being in her room at two o'clock in the morning.

The shock of seeing her brother lounging in the chair in front of her desk, not even trying to hide the frown on his face, caused her to misstep and fall flat, face down into her pink carpet.

Getting up, Lauren pasted a big cheesy grin on her face. "Hey, Tony. What's up?"

"Where were you?" he asked, sharply, ignoring her question.

Everything was going to be fine. Lauren had planned for this very moment; she had the perfect excuse lined up. "I fell asleep over Courtney's; we were--

Shaking his head, Tony made a tsking noise. "Try again. I called Courtney two hours ago when I first noticed you were gone and she said she hadn't seen you."

'_Damn,' Lauren thought, 'it might've helped if I'd told Courtney about my perfect excuse.'_

"I was out," she said, finally.

He waited a moment, before sighing and asking, "Are you going to tell me what you were doing or who you were with? I know you didn't stay out 'til two in the morning by yourself."

"I was with a guy," she said, after another long pause. She figured she might as well give him that much--knowing Tony he'd probably called all her friends, not just Courtney, and already knew that she hadn't been with any of them.

Tony had assumed she was with a guy, but that didn't stop him from becoming angrier when he heard her admit it. There were rules, Lauren may not have been aware, but there were rules. His sister was pretty and popular--guys were going to want to take her out, and he knew he couldn't stop it. But he could make sure that they treated her right, and in his opinion keeping her out 'til two and then leaving her to climb a tree in the pitch black night was the opposite of treating her right. Somebody had just broken the rules, and they were about to pay for it.

"Did he even drive you home?" he asked, suddenly. It'd just occurred to him that he hadn't heard a car turn off or start.

"He parked down the block and I walked the rest of the way. I didn't want the car to wake anybody up."

If the guy's fate hadn't been sealed before, it was now. "This guy let you walk home in the dark?" He scoffed. "What a gentleman."

"It was my idea," Lauren stressed, defending Nate. He was a gentleman, in his own way; she'd practically had to beg to get him to agree to it. Really, what was wrong with the guys she knew? Like she was gonna get accosted during the three minutes it took her to jog home…please.

"Whatever," Tony was quick to dismiss her defense of the guy. "So, are you going to tell me who he is or what?"

Lauren really thought about that for a moment, and when she ran Tony's probable reaction to finding out her boyfriend was Nathan Venturi through her mind she had her answer, "No."

"No?" Tony repeated, incredulous.

"No," she said, firmly. Tony could find out when everyone else did.

"But--

His protests were cut short by her phone blasting whatever poppy tune it was that notified her of an incoming text message. Her hands automatically flew to her pockets, but it was only seconds before she and Tony both realized that her cell phone was on the floor in front of her window; she must've dropped it when she fell through the window. Making a mad dash for her phone, she picked it up and quickly pocketed it; she could read the message later, when she was alone.

Her actions struck him as odd for someone who'd just about broken their neck trying to get to their phone. "Hey, speedy, aren't you gonna read the message. I mean, you seemed awfully excited to read it a minute ago."

"No," she shrugged, mentally kicking herself for drawing so much attention to her message, "it's probably nothing."

He'd have thought that Lauren would know she couldn't lie to him by now; it'd never been her strong suit.

"Alright," he shrugged. "Well, back to what I was," stopping abruptly, he lunged at her and snatched the phone out of her jacket pocket.

"Tony," she screeched, and turned around to grab it back, but she was too slow; he kept darting out of reach.

Lauren huffed. "Give that back, or--

"Or what," he laughed, "you'll tell mom and dad?" When she remained silent, he shook his head. "Wanna know what I think?"

'_Not particularly,' _she thought, narrowing her eyes.

"I think that you snatched that phone so quick because you were expecting somebody to message you. Somebody like, oh, I don't know, Mr. Mystery Date."

"You're wrong," she said, simply.

"Well, let's see about that." He moved to flip open the phone.

"Open that phone and I'll never speak to you again," she threatened. And he did actually pause for a minute, but she was bluffing and they both knew it.

As soon as he hit the view message button, Tony's eyes widened to the size of saucers. There, at the top of the screen, sat the two words he'd never expected to see: "Nate's cell".

Now, there was a Nathan at their school, but he was in ninth grade and had a bit of a figure skating thing going on--Tony was pretty sure he wasn't into chicks. Taking him out of the equation only left one option he could see.

"Tell me this isn't from who I think it's from," he requested, almost desperately.

"It's who you think," Lauren said, briskly. Really, there was no sense in pretending anymore. And, though she was dreading his reaction, it was kind of nice not having to keep it from him anymore. "It's Nate; Casey's Nate."

"Why?" Tony asked, reeling from the news. "Why him?"

Why? 'Cause Nate was smart, and nice, and charming. Because he cared about more than the fact that she was a popular cheerleader. Because, even though they weren't even close to actually saying the words to each other, she was pretty sure he loved her.

But Tony didn't want to hear any of that, and she didn't want to see him throw up so she refrained from telling him.

"Just 'cause." She sighed. "Do I have to worry about you telling mom and dad?"

"Have I ever been a snitch?" He sounded genuinely insulted.

"No." Lauren shook her head, smiling reluctantly. That was the one thing nobody could ever accuse her brother off.

"I don't like it though," Tony told her, seriously.

Actually, he hated it. He didn't trust the guy and he didn't think Nate was good enough for his sister. But he knew he couldn't stop them, and his sometimes skewed code of honor wouldn't allow him to tell on her. He'd just have to wait. Wait until this blew up in her face--Nate was an ass and, from what he'd observed, girl crazy, so it was bound to happen. Then everything could return to normal.

"If you'd just give Nate a chance, you'd like him." He cocked an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "You're actually a lot alike."

"There's no need to go and insult me."

"Tony," she whined.

"Sorry sis, but I'm not gonna like the guy; I'm just not. But don't worry, your secret's safe with me," he promised.

"Thanks." She gave him a cheery smile. "And you don't worry either; as soon as everything is cool between our two families me and Nate are going to tell the parents everything."

Poor Lauren. Poor innocent Lauren. Couldn't she see that even if the families managed to burry the hatchet, finding out about Nate and Lauren's relationship was just going to create another problem they could fight over for another twenty years. But Tony wasn't a bubble buster--at least, he wasn't when it came to his sister--so he kept all that to himself.

"Be careful," he said, heading for the door, "don't get caught."

"Don't tell, and I won't."

OOOO

"So what were the other things you wanted to ask me?"

Casey had purposely given Emily the wrong movie time so that she would arrive at the theatre early. She wanted them to be free to enjoy the movie, so Casey wanted to get all discussion of the past--or at least all unhappy discussion of the past--out of the way now. It wouldn't do to spend the whole day waiting on the Big Bad to drop.

Emily quit fiddling with her turn signal--by her request they were waiting in her car rather than Casey's--and, after a moment's hesitation asked, "Why'd you come back?" That was something she'd never been able to figure out. 'Cause if she were Casey, wild horses couldn't have dragged her back to the location of the infamous wedding rehearsal debacle.

Casey wasn't really following. "Umm, what?"

"Why'd you come back?" Emily repeated. "After Sam had finished law school we sat down and talked, I mean really talked; and we both decided that we wanted a fresh start in a new town. But you and Derek"--she shrugged-- "decided to go back home." Shifting her attention from her dashboard, Emily gave Casey a significant look. "If anybody needed a fresh start it was you and Derek."

'_Truer words…' _Casey thought grimly. "I'll be the first to admit that Derek and I certainly could've benefited from going to a place where nobody knew about us or our past. But, really, where else were we gonna go? That is where Derek grew up, where he was born. Our siblings, talking to us or not, were there. And the way we figured it we had just as much right to be there as anyone else," she stated, resolutely.

Nobody could say the woman lacked backbone.

"Besides," she shrugged, "it's not like we moved to the same block or anything. We live across town from the house he grew up in," she explained. "Our boys don't even have to attend Derek's and mine's old schools."

It still wasn't an ideal choice in Emily's opinion, but living on the opposite end of town was better than nothing. "That's something," she commented, not entirely sure what to say.

"And, we kinda wanted to show people that we didn't care what they thought, show them that we didn't believe we'd done anything wrong," Casey admitted.

'_Hadn't done anything wrong?_' Emily thought, disbelieving. "What do you mean by that?"

Realizing how she must've sounded, Casey rushed to explain her words. "Not the cheating on our fiancés part; we know that was wrong." She gave a nervous laugh. "The being related part," she clarified. "I'm almost positive that's what people have a problem with and not our infidelity."

"People are so stupid; the two of you don't even share any blood." Emily wasn't above admitting that she'd said a few (a lot of) very mean stepsibling centric insults about Derek and Casey over the years. But she'd been angry, and rightfully so, about their treatment of her. At least her bitchy comments were provoked. What was everyone else's excuse? Besides Sam and the families, nobody else had any reason to be so righteous.

"I know right," Casey said, happy to have somebody who seemed to see things from her point of view. "Like me marrying my stepbrother is a valid reason to hate me."

"Yeah. Rest assured, my hate of you comes solely from the cheating aspect." She laughed immediately upon seeing Casey's expression. "I was joking. You know I don't hate you, at least I don't anymore." Emily may not have been positive what exactly she felt for Casey, but she knew she didn't hate the woman.

Casey resisted the urge to swipe at her forehead. For a minute there she'd thought they'd reverted back.

"Anyways," Emily said, getting back on track, "I do have one more question for you."

"Shoot."

"That ring you're wearing, it's been years since I've seen it so I guess I can't be positive, but it's mine right? That's the ring Derek proposed to me with?" In all actuality, Emily knew the ring was one in the same. How could she forget the ring that'd brought her so much happiness and misery? She just wanted to hear Casey say it.

Casey grimaced. As much as she'd hoped it wouldn't, she'd known for quite some time that this question was coming. From the moment they'd first started talking again, when Emily had asked her to help with Sam, Casey knew that Emily wanted to discuss the ring.

"Yeah, this is the same ring."

"Makes sense--why buy me my own ring when he could just give me the one you didn't want," she mumbled, wryly. "It's not like he ever loved me anyway."

Casey seriously toyed with the idea of telling Emily that Derek had loved her, just not romantically, but in the end she figured that was more of a Derek/Emily conversation than a Casey/Emily conversation.

"We never did get the inscription fixed," Emily recalled. "He always had some excuse or another; I guess he was just holding out hope that you'd change your mind."

This conversation was going to hell. Fast. Emily was starting to sound sad, and pretty soon that was gonna morph into anger. Casey knew she had to stick a fork in this before too much damage was done.

"I'm not going to lie. I was happy when I opened that anonymous package and saw this ring." But she was quick to add, "But I don't wear it to hurt you, or to prove that I was right all those years ago when I told you it was my ring. I wear it because I love Derek and this is the ring he bought because he loved me."

"Okay," Emily said, after a moment.

Thinking her companion was upset, Casey said, "Emily, come on."

"No; no," she gave her the ring back, "I'm serious; it's okay. I guess it's not like it was ever really mine anyway." Emily couldn't prevent the lone tear that escaped her eye.

"I'm sorry," Casey said, voice genuine. "I am so sorry for everything we did to you."

Emily knew Casey's apology was genuine, but all she could do was nod. Swiping at her betraying eyes, she caught sight of her watch.

"We're late; let's go in." She was more than done asking questions.

"But--

"Do you wanna see the movie or not?"

"Yeah."

"Well, okay then."

She got out of the car, and after a bit of hesitation Casey followed. They could always talk more later.

OOOO

"So, what'd you think?" Casey asked, as they got back into the car.

"I think, that even at his advanced age, Ryan Gosling is still incredibly good looking."

"Okay," Casey said, in agreement. "He must take whatever 'forever young' elixir Johnny Depp used to use."

The movie had been a nice little distraction. Emily appeared to be in a far better mood.

"So, where to now?" Emily asked, glancing at Casey.

"Huh?" Casey asked, feigning ignorance.

"Well, you got back in my car when yours is right over there," she tossed her head in the direction of Casey's car, "so I can only assume you want to do something else."

"Well, since you brought it up, we could always have a late lunch."

"At the diner?" They were in the area.

"The diner's closed for maintenance or something, but I looked up this burger place that's not too far," having caught the odd expression Emily was sending her, Casey stopped abruptly. "What?" she asked, confused.

"Suddenly your lunch idea doesn't sound so… sudden."

"I might've been hoping you wouldn't want to call it quits after the movie. I just like to be prepared," she said, slightly defensive."

"Mmm hmm."

"Oh, just drive and I'll give you directions. I mapquested the place."

Emily shook her head, but still put the car in drive.

"Same old Casey."

OOOO

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Lauren said, shaking her head at Nate. "I've never cut class before." She was just glad it wasn't a game day. Cheerleaders who couldn't make it to class, were cheerleaders who couldn't cheer. Though, she figured seeing Nate during the day was worth missing a game.

"Aww, my girl is a goody-goody," he said, laughing.

"Am not; I've been sneaking out every night to see you haven't I?" she countered.

Nate dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Touché."

"You know, when you said you had a surprise for me I wasn't expecting to end up here, back where it all started."

"Didn't it start at your house?"

"Please," she rolled her eyes, "I couldn't stand you back then."

He leaned across the table and kissed her. "What was that?"

"Okay, so maybe I could stand you a little. But only 'cause you're hot," she clarified.

Shaking his index finger back and forth, he tsked at her. "For someone who's supposed to be getting a surprise you're not being very nice; I may just have to keep your present."

"I'm getting a present?" Lauren squealed. "And here I thought the trip here was my surprise."

"Well," he shrugged, "if you're satisfied with this, I can always--

"Give. Me. My. Present," she demanded. "I'll make it worth your while," she promised, in a singsong voice.

"Well, in that case," his girl was just too hot to turn down, "close your eyes."

She complied quickly, and he got up and slid into her side of the booth. Taking off the silver chain that hung around his neck, he took a deep breath and hung it around her neck.

"Okay, you can open them now."

Her eyes fluttered open and dropped to the chain that now hung around her own neck.

"You want me to wear your class ring?"

Blushing, he said, "a lot of the guys I know are being all 1950s about it and giving their girls their lettermen's jackets, but, you know me, I've always gotta be different." He laughed nervously.

"I don't know, if you ask me, this is pretty 1950s too." If it was possible he got even redder. "But I think it's sweet." She ran her fingers through his already messy hair, and, tugging on it lightly, she brought him closer. "Thanks," she practically whispered, before closing the small distance that separated the two of them and kissing him.

The bell above the restaurant's entrance chimed, but Nate and Lauren were too wrapped up in each other to notice it. Too bad. If they'd been paying attention they would've seen their mothers entering the joint; and they would've noticed them gazing around the self-seating eatery looking for a place to sit, but, most importantly, they would have had some sort of warning before they were completely ambushed.

It was Emily who noticed them first, and she just couldn't believe her eyes. But she'd know her daughter anywhere, and that was definitely her, and she was definitely sucking face with Nathan Venturi. When she first saw them it was the oddest thing, for a split second it was like Emily wasn't Emily; or maybe she was, and it was Lauren who wasn't herself. Because, for Emily, looking at the two teens was like looking into a mirror of the past. By the time she'd drawn Casey's attention to the scene, she felt sick.

Marching over to their table, Casey right on her heels, Emily wasted no time in making her presence known.

"Fancy meeting you here, Lauren," she said, tight lipped.

"Hey, mom," she said absently. But as the lusty fog cleared she began to process just what was happening. "Mom," she screeched, springing apart from Nathan. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Mrs. Shepherd," Nate seemed unbelievably calm, that is, until he looked past Emily and caught sight of his own mother. "Umm… mom, you're here, with Lauren's mom." He almost laughed. "Well, this is awkward."

"You two are dating?" Casey brought her hands to her chest, looking ready to burst. "That is so cute."

"Isn't it though?" Nate said, all smiles. Maybe he wasn't gonna get in trouble.

"Wait- what?" Emily was looking at Casey all cockeyed; she really couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You think this," she gestured to the two teens, "is cute?"

"Oh, sorry," Casey sounded repentant, "you're right."

"Thanks," Emily said, slightly relieved.

"What are you two doing here? I know for a fact that your school is not out yet Nate, and I'm assuming yours isn't either Lauren. Cutting class," she shook her head, "I'm really disappointed in you."

Here was something else that hadn't changed about Casey--she still knew how to completely miss the point. _'Somebody's upset for the wrong reasons.' _

Emily couldn't focus. Casey's obliviousness, Derek's arm--see, she couldn't even think straight--Nate's arm around her daughter, the horrible familiarity of it all; she had to get out of there. And she had to take her daughter with her.

"Lauren, get your stuff; we're going home."

"But, mom--

"Now," she barked. Forcing a smile, Emily turned to Casey. "Can Nate take you back to your car?"

"Uh, sure," she said. Casey was slightly confused. Why was Emily so mad? Teenagers cut school, it just what they do. "So, I'll call you later to set a time to go see that play we were talking about."

"Yeah, yeah," Emily said, absently, practically dragging her daughter out the place.

Mrs. Venturi seemed to be okay, but Lauren knew her mother and she knew that Emily was anything but okay. The shit was about to hit the fan, at least for her. Well, at least Nate was probably going to fare better.

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N:** Let me know what you thought!


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **Be forewarned, this chapter is kinda all over the place. Thoughts and stressed words are in italics.

**Disclaimer: **I own London. I own France. I own a pair of Mike Seater's underpants. Too much? Sorry 'bout that. Maybe I should just stick to saying "I Disclaim" and leave the rhyming to the professionals.

OOOOOOOO

"Hey, baby," Derek greeted Casey as he walked into the kitchen.

Looking up from the cookie dough she was mixing, she gave him a smile. "Hey. How was work?"

He shrugged. "Work's work."

Casey bit back a smile. Her husband liked to act like his job was some huge burden, but anybody who knew Derek knew he loved his job at the paper. Deadlines weren't really his thing, but getting paid to write about sports was his own little version of heaven.

Just then he started glancing around as if searching for something.

"The mail is on the mantle in the front room," she told him before he could ask.

Shaking his head, he grinned. "You know me too well."

While he was walking off in search of the mail, Casey called out to him, "Hey, if Nate asks you if he can go somewhere don't let him; he's grounded."

Returning to the kitchen, mail in hand, Derek asked, "for what?"

"He cut school today. While Emily and I were hanging out we caught him red handed on a lunch date with his girlfriend."

The girlfriend part hit him harder than the cutting class part. He hated to be all old school about it, but boys will be boys, and teenage boys cut school sometimes. But the girlfriend thing…that was just weird. Derek had met plenty of Ambers, Kishas, Kelseys, and Sandys while they'd waited patiently on the couch for Nate to return or tried unsuccessfully to sneak up to his room, but he hardly ever saw the same girl twice. He just couldn't fathom his son having a steady girlfriend--Derek gave it two weeks, tops.

"A girlfriend huh?" He shook his head and returned to opening the bills. "Anyone we've met before?" he asked, not really sounding interested.

"Yeah, actually," Casey was back to stirring the dough, "it's Lauren," she said, somewhat offhandedly.

"Lauren?" he repeated blankly. _'Lauren… do I know a Lauren?'_ he wondered, and then a thought occurred to him. "Wait- you don't mean…" his voice trailed off in horror.

"Yeah," she smiled brightly, "its Emily's Lauren. How cute is that?" she asked, enthusiastically. "I mean, I was so overwhelmed by the cuteness factor that I almost forgot to punish him. But then I thought about how if he didn't go to class, he'd be behind the curve, and then he wouldn't be successful at University and never get a good job. He could end up on the streets begging--"

"Be quiet," Derek snapped, interrupting her babbling. His head was spinning and her incessant chattering wasn't helping matters. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Eyes straying from the bowl, Casey caught sight of her husband's angry face.

"Which part?" she asked, insulted.

"Why's he dating that girl?" Derek was talking more to himself than to Casey. "So he can break her heart and our families will have something to fight about for the _next_ twenty years. Jesus," he swore.

To say Casey was surprised by his outburst would've been an understatement.

"How do you know he'll break her heart?"

"Hello?" He gave her an incredulous look. "Have you met our son? He's me reincarnated. Bless his heart, but he's not wired to go with just one girl. He's got a new one here each week."

"You say he's just like you, but you were able to date just one girl when you were his age. You only dated Emily for years."

His brows shot up into his hairline. Apparently his wife had taken leave of her senses.

"Well, I mean not counting me," she corrected sheepishly. "But that's beside the point; you know what I was trying to say."

Slamming the long forgotten mail down on the counter, he narrowed his eyes at her. "That is so _not_ beside the point. I left her for you; I _couldn't_ be faithful, which is totally my point."

"Okay," she exhaled loudly, "but you've always been faithful to me," she countered.

"Because we are in love."

Casey stood, hands upon hips. "And how do you know Nate's not in love?"

"They're in high school," he yelled, "They don't know what love is yet. We didn't at that age. Part of the reason things got so messed up when we were younger was because we didn't know what we really felt for each other," he explained.

"They are _not_ us," she shouted back. What was wrong with Derek? Couldn't he see? "And they are not you and Emily, or me and Sam, or Sam and Emily. They are Nathan and Lauren, and they like each other," she stressed, completely fed up with a conversation she really couldn't even believe she was having.

"Well _I don't _like it." Derek slammed a fist into one of the cabinets. "I didn't want you and Emily hanging out in the first place, but no you had to do it anyway. And now Nate's caught up with Lauren and it's gonna fuck things up even more than they already are."

Casey threw her hands up. "What are you talking about?"

He laughed derisively. "I don't give a damn how much progress you think you've made with Emily, if you think she's gonna be okay with her daughter dating mini me you're crazy."

"What's wrong with you?" she cried. Casey felt dangerously close to tears and it was mainly because she felt so confused. Derek wasn't prone to yelling at her or talking to her like she was an idiot, and it was making her feel, well, bad. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Because you always do this," he yelled, frustrated. "You always set yourself up to get hurt. You used to do it with your father and now you're doing it with Emily. You want to be her friend, but you want Nate and Lauren to be together? That's just stupid." He shook his head at her. "Mark my words, Emily and Sam are not going to like this."

"You don't know that," Casey said, shaking her head in denial.

"Yes, I do, and if you're honest with yourself you'll realize you know it too." Walking over to his wife, Derek placed a hand on each of her shoulders and looked down into her eyes. "Princess," he said, voice much gentler, "up until a few months ago these people hated us. So do you really believe that Emily and Sam want to see a boy who looks and acts just like a man they can't stand hitting on their daughter?"

She sighed. "I can't speak for Sam, but I know Emily won't care." Derek started to speak, but Casey went on. "But even if she does care, so what? It won't affect us, we're friends now and something like our kids dating isn't going to change that."

Running a hand through his hair, he gave her an almost pitying glance. "For your sake I hope you're right," he told her.

But Derek knew she was wrong, and he hated that. And he hated to see his wife hurt, but what he hated even more was knowing that he couldn't do anything to stop it. Frowning, he left the room in disgust, not with her, but with himself. He'd meant to talk to Nate about Lauren weeks ago and now it was too late. He could only hope that by some miracle Emily and Sam didn't care.

OOOO

"Mom, please say something," Lauren begged. Emily had remained silent throughout the entire ride home and now they were sitting in their living room having the tensest staring contest ever. Lauren figured her mother was just waiting on her father to get home so they could have the pleasure of lecturing and punishing her together, but enough was enough. The silence was grating and she was beyond anxious--Lauren just wanted to get it all over with.

"What do you want me to say?" Emily asked in a clipped tone.

"Something, anything." Lauren shrugged. "I just want you to tell me what you're thinking."

Something in Emily seemed to snap. She'd been trying to keep a tap on her anger which is why she'd been trying to remain quiet until Sam got home, but to hell with it. If Lauren wanted to know what she was thinking then she'd give her an earful alright.

Emily slanted her eyes in Lauren's direction. "When I was telling you and Tony about everything that happened with me and the Venturi's when I was younger were you listening to anything I said? I know you heard me, but were you _listening_?"

"Umm, y-yeah, yeah," Lauren stuttered, caught off guard by the question.

Standing abruptly, Emily folded her arms across her chest and glared down at her daughter. "Then why in God's name would you purposely repeat my mistakes?"

"What?!"

"Derek is an ass; a cheater. He doesn't care about people's feelings." Emily was already bordering on hysterical. Head swimming, she was having trouble expressing her thoughts vocally.

"Okay, fine, I couldn't agree more." Lauren really couldn't have agreed more, she believed all those things to be true; but what did that have to do with Nate? "But I'm not dating Derek, I'm dating his son."

Unfortunately for Lauren, Sam had picked that very moment to walk through the front door, so he heard her last words.

"No you're not," he said simply, staring at his daughter.

"Yes, I am." "Yes, she is." Both mother and daughter had spoken through clenched teeth; they were both pissed, just for very different reasons.

"No, she's not," he addressed his wife, "our daughter is too smart to get sucked in by a Venturi. She would never do something so stupid."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," she demanded, standing. "And you're right, I'm not stupid, which is why I have no problem differentiating between Derek and his son, something you two seem unable to do."

Inhaling sharply, Emily drew herself up. "Excuse me?"

"If anyone's acting stupid here it's the two of you." Lauren gasped at her own words, but she'd just hit a point of no return so she kept right on going. "How dare you judge Nate? You don't even know him."

"I know he wasn't here five minutes before he was fighting your brother and hitting on you," Emily responded. "That boy is Derek reborn, from his smirk to the way he thinks he can best any guy and get any girl. And just like his father would've done, he will _use_ you," she stressed.

"Yeah, you would say that," Lauren snapped back.

Grabbing her daughter's arm, Emily pulled her right in front of her, making sure she had Lauren's attention when she told her, "I say it because it's true; I should know, I lived it. Do I think Nathan's going to leave you for his step-sister? No. But he will hurt you, mark my words."

"No he won't," Sam piped up. There was no point in letting the two women in his life continue to argue, when he'd already come to a decision. "He won't hurt her, because he won't be able to."

Lauren and Emily turned their gazes to him, both watching expectantly.

"The two of you are done," Sam told his daughter, finality coloring his words. "Call him, text him, do whatever, but you tell that boy it's over."

"Daddy, no!" Lauren couldn't help it, she stomped her foot.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin," Sam said, and oddly enough he did sound sorry, "But I won't allow a Venturi, any Venturi, to hurt anyone in this family ever again."

"The only ones hurting me are you," she declared, pointing an accusing finger at her parents. "I hate you!" After the bitter words escaped hr lips, Lauren ran up the stairs to her room.

Upon hearing their daughter's door slam, Sam and Emily flinched.

"Sam," Emily's voice broke a little, "I just don't want--

Taking two big steps, Sam reached his wife and embraced her. "Shush. It's for her own good; she'll get over it," he assured her.

Would she really get over it? Emily wasn't so sure. Because, really, had any of them--herself, Sam, Casey, or Derek--ever gotten over the issues from their past? Nope, the past had a way of sticking with a person well into their future. Emily just hoped what they'd just done didn't come back to bite them all in the ass.

OOOO

As soon as Lauren slammed her door it opened right back up.

"Tony, do you have any idea what mom and dad just did?" Lauren asked, voice wild, once her brother was through the doorway and had shut the door.

"Yeah, I heard." He bit back a smile. "I think the whole neighborhood heard."

"This isn't funny."

"No, it isn't," he agreed, as he watched her swipe at her eyes.

"Oh," Lauren whined, "what am I gonna do?"

Tony sighed, unsure of what he was about to say. Truthfully, he agreed with his parents, but that didn't mean that he got any pleasure from watching his sister go through something so painful. He wanted her to be happy, which is why he agreed not to rat her out in the first place and why he was about to give her some advice that completely went against everything he thought was right.

"First, you're gonna stop crying." He tossed her the box of tissues that'd been sitting on her bookshelf. "And if you don't want to stop seeing Nate then don't stop seeing him."

Sniffling, she shook her head. "But mom and dad said—

"Forget what they said" he told her, interrupting. "Since when have we done every little thing they told us to do?"

She thought about that for a moment before shaking her head again. "This is different though."

"You're right; this is _very_ different. If ever there was a time to break the rules it's now."

"Well," she said, slowly, "I was supposed to see him again tomorrow night."

"Then see him. If mom and dad ask where you're going just tell them you'll be with me; I'll cover for you," he promised.

"Thanks, Tony," she gave him a hug, "this means a lot. I mean, I know you don't really like Nate."

"No, I don't," he admitted. "But I like you okay, so what the hell, I'll help," he joked lightly.

"Gee, thanks," Lauren said, dryly. "It's nice to know you care."

Her cheeks may have been tear streaked and her eyes might've been red and puffy, but the sparkle was back in her eyes. Lauren was happy again. Things may have been all messed up, but at least she was going to get to keep seeing Nate, even if she did have to lie to do it. And, hopefully, one day she wouldn't have to lie anymore because, if it was the last thing she did, she was going to prove to her parents that Nate wasn't Derek--that he was nothing like his father.

OOOOOO

"You're still going to see her?" Shawn asked in disbelief.

Nate pulled on his lettermen's jacket and ran his hand through his perfectly messed hair a few times before answering. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

Shawn shot him an incredulous look. "You heard mom and dad yesterday right?"

"Who didn't?" he joked.

"Given the fact that they had a big fight about you seeing this girl, do you really think that continuing to see her is a good idea?" Shawn asked in a clipped tone. Sometimes his brother's nerve was truly galling.

Pocketing his keys, Nate responded, "they never said I couldn't date her, and even if they had--"

"You wouldn't have listened," he guessed. "I don't think--

"Chill, Shawn," Nate interrupted him, trying to stave off a lecture he really didn't want to hear. "Take a breath," he instructed. "Mom has to work late and dad is at club, so I'm not going to get caught. Everything's gonna be cool," he said, before leaving out the door.

When he heard a car engine start, Shawn couldn't help but roll his eyes. His brother was delusional. Since when did "Westside Story"-type relationships ever turn out "cool"? One way or another things were going to end badly.

OOOO

"So why'd you wanna meet here?" Nate asked, as Lauren slid into the passenger seat of his car. "Did you want to get food or something?"

"No," she shook her head, "I had to leave the house with Tony and this McDonalds was in the direction he was going. Plus I figured it was on your way too so you'd have to know where it was."

"Oh." He shrugged. "Wait- why'd you have to leave with Tony?"

Sighing, Lauren said, "It's a long story, one I suppose we should talk about." She was reluctant to fill Nate in on what had happened, mainly because she didn't want to think about it anymore, but she figured he ought to know what was going on with her.

"Okay," he said, slowly, "do you want to go someplace in particular?"

"No; maybe you could just drive around and we could talk in the car," she suggested.

Nodding, he put the car in drive and they proceeded to cruise.

Having picked up on the sour note in her voice, Nate slanted her a glance. "Is everything alright?"

"No," she sighed, "not really."

Placing his hand on top of her own, he laced their fingers together. "Tell me about it, baby."

"I will," She mustered up a smile for him, "But first tell me what happened when you got home yesterday. How did your parents take everything?"

"Well, my mom thought it was the cutest thing ever," he told her, doing a comically high pitched imitation of Casey.

Lauren giggled lightly, before asking. "And your father?"

He didn't want to upset her anymore than she already was so he figured he'd just have to dance around the truth a little. It simply wouldn't do to tell her that his father thought their relationship was going to fuck up everything.

"My dad wasn't _as_ happy about it." '_Understatement of the year,' he thought_. "But it's cool," he said, ambiguously.

Lauren sagged with relief; at least the Venturi's had taken it well. "You're so lucky," she squeezed his hand, "my parents flipped out."

"Like how?"

"Like, I shouldn't even be here right now because I've been forbidden to see you." The anger and bitterness were back in her voice. "They told me to break up with you."

"What?!" he exclaimed, slightly shocked; even his parents hadn't gone that far. Turning sharply, he pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"Yup, they went all crazy even though I kept telling them you were different."

"Different from what?" he asked, confused.

"Your father, silly," she told him, patting his chest. "They're so convinced you're just like him, but I know you'd never be so callous and backstabbing as he was. You're not a liar or a user"--she was meaning to compliment him, "you actually have feelings."

Pulling his hand away, he asked, in a tone she couldn't quite decipher, "And my father doesn't?" He knew she hadn't meant to, but she'd offended him.

"What's wrong?" It was Lauren's turn to be confused; she couldn't fathom why he sounded mad all of a sudden.

"You make my dad sound like he's evil incarnate or something," Nate told her.

"Look," apparently his irritation was contagious, because now she was slightly annoyed, "I'm not saying he's Charles Manson, but you have to admit your parents are no angels. Just look at what they did to my parents."

God, Nate was sick of hearing about the past. That's what was wrong with everyone: they couldn't forget something that happened like twenty years ago. "That was like forever ago. And, really, is what they did so bad? They were just two teenagers who were in love and wanted to be together, like us."

He was getting himself worked up, and Lauren had to wonder if he even realized that he'd just told her he was in love with her (albeit in a lame ass way) for the first time. She couldn't really think about that right then though, because she was still trying to process the fact that he seemed to think that his parents were in the clear simply because they were in love.

"What's love got to do with it?" She coked an eyebrow in his direction. "Okay, I'll be generous and cut your mom a little slack, but your father started dating my mother knowing he was into your mom. That's just dirty."

"Umm, hello? He was a kid and kids make mistakes." Nate sounded exasperated. "Big deal," he mumbled, sarcastically.

"A mistake is forgetting to turn the iron off, not forgetting to tell your girlfriend that you're screwing her best friend. Humph," Lauren folded her arms across her chest, "for all anyone knows there could have been other girls. Derek was quite the player," her tone was derisive at best, "so I guess my mom should just be happy he didn't give her something."

Nate went on the defensive. "From what I've heard she should be happy he gave her the time of day. She was the queen of all losers."

"No, no;" she shook her head, "I believe that was your mother, and in case you're wondering she also held the title of queen of all sluts," she snapped back.

"Let me get this straight," he tapped his forehead in mock concentration, "my father was a man-whore and my mother was a loser slut. So how desperate and pathetic were your parents to have wanted them?" he asked, with feigned curiosity. "Better yet, why don't you tell me why your father wanted to be Derek Venturi so badly he could taste it."

"Please," she scoffed, "why would my father want to be an incestuous freak?" Her eyes widened, she was so surprised at the words that had come out of her mouth. Hands down, that was one of the single meanest thing she'd ever said.

And it hurt Nate. Badly. He refused to let it show though; face red and angry, he answered her. "Who knows? I guess it's one of life's great mysteries like why my father would've ever lowered himself and dated a bottom rung, socially retarded, little wannabe like your mother."

Lauren gasped, but quickly recovered; he wasn't about to get the best of her or her mother. "You don't have to pretend Nate," she said in a syrupy sweet voice. "I know you wish it could've worked out between them, then they'd have gotten married and we'd be related and you could french your sister just like your dear old daddy."

"I don't know," Nate said, playing along despite his anger…or maybe because of it. "Would we just be frenching or could we fuck too?" He was being purposely coarse to hurt her. Giving her an appraising look, he said, "I've never had a spiteful bitch before, but I'd be willing to try you out."

There went what little control over her anger she'd had left. She slapped him. "That," she told him, as he flexed his stinging jaw, "is the last time I ever touch you again." Reaching under her shirt, she felt around for the chain that held his class ring, snatched it off, and threw it in his face. "We're so over."

"Really?" he asked, mockingly. "And here I was just about to propose."

Rolling his eyes, Nate turned the key in the ignition and put his hand on the gearshift.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to the chapel," he deadpanned. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking you home. The sooner we leave, the sooner I can pretend we never met and move on with my life," he said, meanly. "Hmm, I wonder what Mariah's doing tonight?"

Clucking her tongue, Lauren opened her door and was out of the car before Nate even knew what was happening.

"What?" he asked her through the window.

"I'll find my own way home," she told him. "I wouldn't want you to keep poor Mariah waiting."

Mad as he was, it was getting darker by the minute and she was a chick.

He sighed. "Lauren--

"Maybe I'll call Ricky," she made a big show of pulling out her phone and going through her contact list, "or Lance, well, there's always Danny, and I can't forget about Corey, Marky, or--

"I get it--you can find a ride." He threw his hands up. "Great; wonderful even. Call whoever you want, I couldn't really give a damn." That was a lie--you don't stop loving somebody in the span of a few minutes--but he'd never let her know he still cared. He was hurt and angry, and more than ready to be away from her.

"Try not to get yourself mugged," Nate said, before throwing the gearshift in 'drive' and speeding off.

When he pulled off, all she felt was extremely relieved. Now she could drop the pretenses and cry. And cry is exactly what she did.

It was a good fifteen minutes before she could even pull it together enough to call for a ride.

OOOO

Tony had been riding around with Bam and Johnny looking for something to get into when Lauren had called and asked, through shallow breaths and hysterical sobs, for a ride home, so it was Bam and Johnny who were with him when he picked her up five minutes later.

When they found her, sitting on the curb under a street light, she was still crying.

Tony jumped out the car, barely taking the time to park well.

"What the hell happened?"

"Well," she sniffed, "hello to you too brother." Glancing past Tony, she saw Bam and Johnny exit the car. "And you brought the cavalry. Great."

"Hey, Stimpy," Bam greeted her. It was an old joke between them from some show they all used to watch on TV Land together when they were younger.

Standing up and brushing off her skirt, she nodded at her brother's two oldest friends.

"How are y'all doing?" she said, as if there was nothing weird about their current situation.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" Johnny piped up.

"Yeah, Ren, tell us what happened?"

"Nothing," she said flatly. This had quickly become the single worst week of her life and she wanted to talk about it about as much as she wanted a hole in the head.

Glancing pointedly at her red and swollen hand, Johnny said, "It sure doesn't look like nothing."

"Did you and Venturi get in a fight?" Tony's anger had him practically whispering. If the guy had hurt his sister…well, even God wouldn't be able to save him.

"Yes," she said, but quickly added, "but not how you think. We argued, I slapped him and got out of the car, and he left. End. Of. Story."

"What'd he do to make you hit him?" Tony pressed. He could count the number of people his sister had ever hit on one hand. He was the one with the anger problem, not Lauren; the few times she had gotten physical with someone they'd had it coming.

"He was being an ass." Another simple answer. There was no way in hell Lauren was going to repeat the heated exchange they'd had; it wouldn't accomplish anything except make Tony want to go put his foot in Nathan's ass.

"That's it?" her brother asked, voice skeptical.

"Yup." She walked over to the car. "Now, if you're done with the interrogation I'd like to go home. Shotgun," she announced, before plopping down in the front seat.

The three boys all exchanged a look.

"This is so not over," Tony declared, before heading for the driver's seat.

Bam and Johnny grinned at each other; they'd figured as much.

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N: **Hate it? Love it? Let me know.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thoughts and stressed words are in italics.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD. Mike Seater doesn't even know who I am and he sure doesn't give a damn about me, even though I got him tickets to Iron Maiden!

**This is dedicated to anybody who rooted against New England. **

**DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD!!!**

OOOOOOOO

Casey was tired of this—tired of feeling bad. She hadn't even done anything wrong this time. Emily was just being… well, Emily. She wouldn't take her calls, wouldn't respond to her emails; it was like the woman had dropped off the face of the earth. But Casey knew better, Emily hadn't dropped off the face of the earth, she'd just dropped out of her life. And, judging from the sour expression Nate had been wearing for the past couple of weeks she'd decided to take her daughter with her.

Oh, well. Yeah, it sucked, it definitely sucked, but Casey wasn't about to go through this again. She'd apologized over and over again for what had happened all those years ago, but Emily just couldn't forgive her, just couldn't let the past be the past.

'_Well,' Casey thought, taking another sip of her wine, 'if she can't move on, then I'll just have to do it for the both of us.' _

Shifting slightly in her seat, Casey leaned over the side of the couch and grabbed her purse. It took a minute of rifling through the contents of her bag for her to find her cell phone. After punching in the familiar number, she waited anxiously for the voice mail to pick up--she knew Emily wouldn't answer her call--and once it did, she wasted no time in speaking her mind.

"I get it," she stage whispered into the receiver. "The first week I wasn't sure. Maybe you hadn't checked your messages, maybe your internet was down I said to myself. But after two weeks of unreturned calls, two weeks of being ignored, I think I finally get the message." Her words were angry and rushed; she didn't want the machine to cut her off before she had a chance to get everything out. "You don't want to hang out anymore, presumably because are kids are--were--dating. Well, that's just fine!"

The machine cut her off and she quickly dialed again, determined to finish.

"Because, I'm done," she said, following the recording. "I'm not going to beg you for forgiveness when I haven't done anything to you. I wish things could be different," she admitted, "but I'm through. There won't be anymore calls; I won't try to contact you anymore." Casey took a deep breath and said, "The ball is officially in your court."

As she flipped the phone shut, Casey was surprised to feel a pair of hands on her shoulders.

"Relax," Derek said, when she jumped a little, "it's just me."

"Jeez, creepy much?"

"Sorry," he said, voice sheepish. He turned her to face him, causing Casey to accidentally spill some of her wine onto the floor. "Hmm, tipsy much?" There was humor in his voice. "Tell me that wasn't your idea of drunk dialing."

Glowering at him, she replied, "first off, I don't get drunk. Secondly, if I did, I would never drunk dial."

He was the picture of skepticism. "Then what was that?"

"That," she said, voice the tiniest bit slurred, "was me getting some closure."

"Well, drunk or not, good for you." He hugged her, proud. Venturi's didn't beg anyone for anything. "You did the right thing," he assured her.

And Derek couldn't of been happier about it. For some reason or another Nate and Lauren had apparently called it quits and now Casey was finally willing to let go of this "her and Emily becoming friends" fantasy. Yeah, he'd initially hoped, for his wife's sake, that the Lauren/Nate thing wouldn't affect Emily's feelings for Casey, but now that he knew it did he was slightly relieved. Now maybe things could get back to normal, and the Venturi and Shepherd clans could stay far away from each other like they belonged.

"Yeah," she agreed half-heartedly.

"This is for the best," Derek said, having detected the morose note in her voice. "A reconciliation between the two of you just wasn't meant to be."

She couldn't give up all hope just yet. "She could still call you know," Casey told him, teary eyed.

'_Yeah she could… but she won't," he thought to himself._ However, he told his wife, "Yeah, she might," because Casey needed to hear the words.

Pulling her into a hug, he began to rub her back soothingly. His wife might not know it yet, but things were going to be okay. How could they not? Everything was finally back to the way it should be.

OOOO

When Shawn barged into his brother's room he wasn't surprised to find Nate lying on his bed tossing a basketball into the air. That was pretty much the same position he'd been in for the past two weeks.

"So did you hear mom and dad?"

"Nope," Nate said, flatly.

Shawn ignored the uncaring note in his brother's voice and told him anyway. "Mom's pretty much given up on Mrs. Shepherd; I think things between the two of them are finally over."

"Good," Nate mumbled. His dad had been right--their families should not mix. It had only made everyone miserable.

"That's all you have to say?" Shawn asked, unbelieving. "Good?"

"Yup."

Sighing, Shawn plopped down on the foot of his brother's bed. "It's been two weeks. Are you ever going to tell me what went down between you and Lauren?"

"Nope."

Nathan hadn't told anyone what happened between him and Lauren and he had no intention of doing so then. He didn't want to think about that night and he certainly wasn't in the mood to talk about it.

"Come on, Nate? I mean, the two of you obviously broke up." He looked to Nate for a reaction, but when one wasn't forthcoming he kept right on talking. "But what I can't figure out is why? You were obviously over the moon for the girl, and from the way her eyes were sparkling that night at the pizza place I'd say she felt the same," he told him. It had been obvious to everyone in that restaurant that Nate and Lauren liked each other. A lot. "You're wearing your ring again," he noted, "so something must've happened."

"Shut-up," Nate barked suddenly, taking a break from his one-word responses. "We argued and now it's over. Lauren's over it," which she'd made more than clear when she'd listed all her options for a ride, "and I'm over it. So would you please just shut-up about it?"

Was it over? Shawn hadn't been sure, and now that Nate had snapped at him he was positive. They were far from over, at least on Nate's end. If his brother was so "over it" he wouldn't have been pouting about the girl for the past two weeks and biting people's heads off when they deigned to ask him about it.

"You're positive you're over Lauren?" Shawn knew from the look on his brother's face that he should probably stop before he really pissed Nate off, but he couldn't help himself. He'd never seen his brother like this about any girl before.

"Yes!"

"Then why is her number still in your phone?" he wanted to know.

Nate sprung up. "Why were you in my phone?"

"Not important," Shawn said, dismissively. "Focus, bro. We were discussing the fact that you're still into this chick."

"Get. Out," Nate whispered a threat clear in his voice.

"Nate, man--

"Shawn," he cut in, voice almost shaking, "you really need to get out. Now."

In fear for both his health and his brother's state of mind, Shawn took that as his cue to leave. He could grill Nate later when he was a little less likely to get pummeled for his efforts.

As soon as Shawn left the room Nate sunk back down into his pillows. He knew his brother meant well, but he really just wasn't in the mood to deal with him and his never ending line of questions.

Of course he missed Lauren; of course he was still into her. You couldn't be in love with somebody, talk to them on the phone three times a day, grow accustomed to hearing their laugh and feeling their touch, and then be just fine when you quit them cold turkey. Life didn't work like that.

He'd even toyed with the idea of calling her, but he was still mad. And if Lauren carried a grudge anything like her mother did then she was probably still mad too. And even if she wasn't angry, too much had been said between them--a simple phone call wasn't going to fix anything.

Nope, he and Lauren were definitely done and he couldn't see that changing any time soon.

OOOO

"This is a stupid idea," Bam mumbled, almost incoherently, under his breath.

Tony heard him though, and really couldn't help but feel that his friend was probably right. But the possibility that what he was about to do was stupid wasn't going to stop him.

"Speed up," was Tony's only response.

Johnny shook his head, but he pressed down harder on the gas pedal.

"You know," Johnny said, glancing back at his friend, "the time to beat up this Venturi kid was two weeks ago. There's like a time limit on these things; your 'indignant big brother' warranty ran out days ago."

"I don't want to fight him." He noticed his fiends exchanging a look. "I don't," he insisted, "I just want to talk to the guy."

"You called his school pretending to be his father, found out where he'd be this time of day, talked your two oldest friends into cutting school so they could road trip it all the way up there with you; and you did all that 'cause you want to talk to him?" Johnny asked, disbelievingly. "_Please_."

"It's the truth," Tony cried in exasperation.

"Truth my ass," Bam scoffed. Really, who did Tony think he was kidding?

His friends could scoff all they wanted, but it was the truth. Tony really did just want to talk to the guy. Okay, so part of him wouldn't mind planting his fist into Nate's face a few times but that wasn't what this was about.

This trip was about his sister and in a roundabout way it was about his mother too. For the past two weeks the two most important people in his life had been walking around like a couple of depressed zombies and Tony was sick of it. Lauren hadn't stopped crying in days and his mother looked like she'd lost her best friend--which, he figured, she probably had.

"What sparked this sudden trip anyway?" Johnny wanted know.

"Nothing really," he grunted.

Now, that was a lie if he'd ever told one. The voice mail Casey had left his mother yesterday was the great motivator for this little trip. When Emily heard it she cried, which was pretty surprising, but her reaction wasn't the one that had him embarking on this odyssey. It was Lauren's; when he told his sister about the message and what Casey had said she'd started balling even more than she'd already been. Mumbling something about "never seeing stupid mean Nate again" she'd tossed herself on her bed and gave an Oscar worthy crying performance right in front of his very eyes.

That was the moment he'd decided to do something. At the very least he wanted to find out if things could be salvaged between his sister and Nate. And, if Nate wasn't willing to talk to him, Tony always figured that he could make Nate pay for making his sister so upset. One way or another he was sure the trip wouldn't be a total waste.

OO

As the trio walked around the school trying to blend in with the students, Johnny couldn't stop himself from sharing his irritation. "Bam was right: this is stupid," he complained. "How are we even supposed to find him?"

"Thanks to the talkative old biddy who answered the phone when I called we know that he usually spends his free period in the gym. So here's a wild idea, why don't we just stop somebody and ask them where the gym is," he suggested, sending his friend a look that clearly said "duh".

"Now," Bam piped up, "remind me again why we're here now instead of two weeks ago when a visit would've been relevant?"

Sending Bam a playful look, Johnny grinned. "Because Lauren practically forbade him from trying to do anything to Nate." He laughed. "The toughest guy in the school and he lets his baby sister boss him around. We're here now _'cause_ it's been so long; Lauren probably isn't watching him as closely anymore," he guessed, jokingly.

Well, Johnny had pretty much hit the nail on the head, but Tony had to save a little face. "Don't make it sound like I'm letting a three year old tell me what to do--being three minutes older doesn't exactly count. And, don't even try to front like you and her precious Filbert over there," Tony gestured to Bam who turned bright red at the mentioning of his real name, "wouldn't do anything she asked you. Y'all are her 'play brothers' after all," he drawled.

Slightly abashed, the two boys didn't really have a response to that; they all knew he was right.

"Yeah," Tony said, smirking, "that's what I tho"--he broke off suddenly as his body connected with another.

"Jeez," the girl he'd knocked down said from the floor, "clumsy much?"

"Sorry 'bout that," he apologized, bending down to help her up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, smartly, "I'm just"--her sarcastic retort died on her lips however, when she caught a good look at him. "I'm fine," she said, voice much friendlier.

"That you are," Tony agreed, his voice having gotten noticeably lower.

When the girl giggled, Bam and Johnny had to stop themselves from rolling their eyes. Even on an ass kicking mission Tony still managed to find a girl. It was amazing, really.

"I'm Tony," he said, introducing himself. "What's your name?"

"I'm Regina, but my _friends_"--she practically waggled her eyebrows; "call me Gia."

"Well, Gia, as my new friend maybe you could help me out. My boys and I," he gestured to his friends, "are looking for the gym; maybe you could point us in the right direction."

"That depends," she said, putting a hand on her hip and cocking a perfectly arched eyebrow, "what are you gonna do for me if I help you?"

The girl was forward. But, lucky for her, Tony loved forward girls. Bending down, he whispered something in her ear that had her simpering and giggling all over the place.

Still giggling, she pulled a pen out of her purse and wrote her number on his palm.

"The gym's straight down this hall and to the left," Gia said, pointing. "You can't miss it." Smiling brightly, she told him, "don't forget to call me," and turned, walking off in the opposite direction.

"Funny," Bam said, once Regina was out of ear shot and they'd started heading in the direction she'd indicated, "I thought we were here to fight not pick up chicks." He really didn't think this was a good idea, and he was getting more antsy by the minute. He didn't have a problem being Tony's wingman in a fight--after all, they were buddies--but he just couldn't get with fighting in a school that wasn't even his. In his opinion this wasn't anything that couldn't wait until dismissal.

"Actually, we're not here for either. The number was a bonus," he told his friends, smiling. "And, thanks to Gia we now know where to find Venturi, so chill."

"I'll chill once we get this over with."

"Well get ready to relax, 'cause here we are."

The gym was right where Gia had said it would be, but they didn't go in immediately. All three boys took a moment to put on their game faces. Sure, Tony had promised Lauren he wouldn't hurt the guy, and he'd sworn to his friends that there wouldn't be any fighting, but they would've all been deluding themselves to completely disregard the possibility of blows being exchanged. There was always the chance.

Taking a deep breath, Tony glanced at his friends, making sure they were ready, before pushing open the double doors that led to the gym. He scanned the room quickly, looking for a teacher and sighed when he didn't see one. That was one problem taken care of.

It didn't take but a second for him to find Nate, who was holding court on the opposite end of the room. Tony hadn't exactly planned on having an audience, but what the hell; he had never been a shy kid.

Walking across the floor, Tony made no attempt to stifle his steps; the sooner somebody realized he was there, the better.

Almost on cue, Tony locked eyes with another guy across the room. It wasn't Nate, but the kid looked oddly familiar, and from the gape-mouth expression he was wearing it appeared that Tony looked familiar to him too.

Of course Tony looked familiar; Shawn may have never met him, but he'd definitely met Lauren and there was no denying who this guy was. It had to be her brother; the resemblance was recognizable to say the least.

Grunting to get Nate's attention, Shawn jerked his head in Tony's direction.

The first thing that came to Nate's mind when he saw Tony was, '_took you long enough._' No, he hadn't expected Tony to show up at his school, but he had been expecting to get a visit from him at some point. If Nate had learned nothing else during the past couple of months, he'd learned that Tony loved his sister more than anything; so, no, he wasn't that surprised to see him. He was just surprised that it'd taken the guy this long to make an appearance.

And if Tony wanted a fight he'd give him one.

"'Sup Shepherd? You lost or something?"

By this time the three boys had made it across the room and were standing about a yard from Nate, so they heard the anger in his voice quite clearly. Apparently somebody wasn't happy to see them.

Tony gave a short laugh. "Naw, I'm thinking about transferring. Maybe you could come over here and tell me what puts this school ahead of the rest," his tone was sarcastic, and as much as he hadn't meant there to be, there was the hint of a threat in it.

The crowd wasn't stupid--they knew a hostile encounter when they saw one. Some were entertained and others, like Nate's friend's James and Mikey, stood up to back him.

Shawn definitely fell into the entertained category. If this didn't look like something out of a cheesy juvenile delinquent film then he didn't know what did. He couldn't stop the words, "Boy, boy, crazy boy, get cool boy," from leaving his mouth.

The gym's occupants seemed to raise a collective eyebrow at him.

Laughing, Shawn said, "Come on, am I the only one who sees it? All this is missing is a chorus of snapping fingers."

Running a hand over his face, Nate shook his head. He didn't expect his little brother to throw down, but did he have to sing?

"Who is this kid?" Tony asked, laughing.

"Shawn Venturi, at your service," Shawn said, bowing slightly in Tony's direction.

Oh, well, that explained that. He must've been Casey's handiwork.

"Are we gonna have a meet 'n' greet or are we actually gonna fight?" Nate asked, clearly irritated. Trust his brother to be thoroughly amused.

"Who said anything about fighting? I just want to talk to you. You know, communicate with words."

"So talk." Nate wasn't buying it, but he figured he might as well see where this was going.

Tony grimaced; if Ren knew what he was about to do she'd have a fit. From the way Nate's goons were positioned behind him, Tony really didn't think he'd have much success getting Nate to talk to him privately so he had to settle for putting Lauren's business on front street. Oh well, what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. Or him.

"My sister misses you," Tony said, bluntly.

Nate was ruffled--_greatly_ ruffled--but he didn't show it. Years in the spotlight had made him very adept at being able to hide what he was really thinking or feeling. Thank God.

"So." He gestured as if to say, 'and I care because?'

"Maybe you should call her," Tony said, and added silently, _'since you obviously miss her too.'_ Who did Nate think he was kidding? He looked like he'd spent a large part of the previous night crying too.

"What- you're acting as her pimp now?" Nate instantly regretted his words, because if Tony was acting as her pimp then that meant…

"Are you calling my sister a ho?" Tony asked, taking an almost unconscious step towards Nate. He'd come there with the best of intentions, but that didn't mean that he had any problem speeding up Nate's trip to hell. The kid was a Venturi, so Lord knows that's where he was gonna end up

Nate sighed. "That was out of line--

"Damn right," Bam interjected, looking ready to pounce. Tony wasn't the only one who doted on Lauren.

"--and I'm sorry," he finished, sincerely.

"You know," Tony bit out through clenched teeth, "I only came here to"--he broke off suddenly. "Jeez, just never mind. This _was_ a stupid idea." And he had to get out of there before his last little bit of self-control snapped.

"Ya think?" Nate couldn't help himself--what had Tony been thinking? It wasn't like they were in the habit of having civil conversations. He'd had to have known that nothing good could come of this.

Tony had meant to drop the whole subject and leave, but Nate's sarcastic comment accompanied by trademark smirk had him saying exactly what was on his mind.

"Yeah, you're right" Tony agreed, mockingly. "I mean, forget that you're walking around here looking like somebody just kicked your dog. And forget that my sister doesn't leave her room except to go to school; forget the fact that she won't even look at another boy; and forget that she hasn't stopped crying since the two of you broke up. What's it matter that you two are obviously miserable without each other anyway?" He asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I'm fine," Nate said, flatly, seemingly unaffected by the speech.

Tony threw up his hands in frustration. "Whatever." He shook his head. "Lord only knows what my sister sees in you." Tossing a glance to his friends, Tony muttered, "I'm through here. Let's go."

As they exited the room, Bam tossed one more menacing glance at Nate. Now that he'd met the notorious Nate he could totally see why Lauren had dumped him and why Tony couldn't stand him. "We really aren't gonna fight them?" He sounded almost disappointed.

Tony sighed, cracking a smile in spite of himself. "You do know it's possible for me to see someone I don't like without hitting them right?"

"Possible," Johnny admitted, "but not likely."

OO

As soon as the gym's heavy wooden doors closed on Tony and his friends, Nate dropped the basketball he'd been clutching and sunk to the ground, clutching his face.

All of a sudden, he started to make a funny noise. Exchanging a shocked look, his friends edged closer to him. _'Was he crying?'_

No. Quite the opposite: he was laughing.

"Umm Nate?" Mikey said, awkwardly.

"She's miserable." He moved his hand, giving them a good look at the smile on his face. "Did you hear that? Lauren's been miserable," Nate was almost hysterical by this point, "she probably can't even eat."

"And that's a good thing?" James asked, confused.

Nate nodded, still laughing, just not as rambunctiously. "That's a _very_ good thing. She isn't happy without me." He was practically beaming when he said that. When she'd mentioned all those guy's names the other day, he'd assumed, well, never mind what he'd assumed. He had obviously been wrong.

Shawn look at his brother as if he was crazy. "This from the guy whose been competing with Lucas Scott for the broodiest teen of the century award for the past two weeks."

"Who?" ninety percent of the room asked him in unison.

Taking a disappointed look around the gym, Shawn said, "what exactly do you guys watch? Am I the only one here with Nick at Night?"

"Chill, gramps," James said, dismissively. "Let's concentrate on one crazy Venturi at a time," he said, returning his focus to Nate.

"No," Nate said, having calmed down considerably, "gramps is right and so was Shepherd." He glanced down at his watch briefly, before looking up at Mikey and James. "Y'all want to ride somewhere right quick?"

"Uh sure."

"Hmm, I wonder where you're going." Shawn asked, sarcasm fairly dripping from his voice.

Ignoring his brother's question, Nate asked him one of his own. "Cover for me?"

"Don't I always."

OOOO

As Nate leaned against the hood of his car, which he'd parked in what he could only assume--from the clunkers he was seeing--was the student parking lot; he had to wonder why he'd ever thought going to see her was a good idea.

Finding out that the girl he was still in love with couldn't function without him had put him on a crack-like high. The bad thing about being high though was that you eventually had to come down. And he was definitely coming down. He couldn't help but think, _'this could totally blow up in my face.'_

When the final bell rang a second later, Mikey, who was standing to Nate's left, nudged him.

"Do you have any idea what you're going to say to her?"

"Nope."

Mikey sighed. It just figured that Nate didn't know--he'd always been the type to act first and think later.

"Well, then, what's the plan?"

"Don't have one," he admitted, shrugging. "I'm sure something will come to me in the moment."

James who'd been silent, though thoroughly amused, during the entire ride finally spoke up. "Well, I hope you have something 'cause here's your moment," he said, pointing.

Looking in the direction James was aiming, Nate caught sight of Lauren coming out of the school's exit. His breath caught at the sight of her. Miserable though she may have been it hadn't affected how beautiful she was.

"Go on." James gave him a little push in the back. "Go work some magic." He was laughing then, but he couldn't help himself--the sight of the school's "player extraordinaire" begging for a girl's affections promised to be extremely entertaining.

Taking a deep breath, Nate made his way over to Lauren. He may have been nervous but he certainly wasn't a chicken. Well, maybe he was a little chicken, 'cause he was kind of hoping he'd get a chance to get his bearings before she caught sight of him. But, alas, he had no such luck.

One minute she was nodding along to something the girl with the up-do was saying and the next she was staring right at him, jaw dropped and eyes wide.

Almost against her will she was drawn to Nathan. Her friends long forgotten, Lauren could only focus on the fact that her ex was standing about five feet in front of her. She pinched herself just to make sure she wasn't imagining him.

Nope; he was definitely real and in a few minutes she'd probably have the bruise to prove it.

"Lauren," Nate said before cutting himself off, hating the way his voice broke over her name. Taking another deep breath, he tried again. "Lauren, I'm--

"I'm sorry," she rushed out, beating him to the punch.

"You are?" he asked, surprised.

'_I am?' _"No." Shaking her head, she attempted to straighten out her thoughts. While she'd been crying in her room she had plenty of time to think about what she'd say to Nathan if she ever got to see him again. But now that the moment was actually here it was like she couldn't think straight. "I mean yes and no. I was a bitch," she admitted, frankly, "but they're my parents; I love them. I'm going to stand up for them."

He could understand that, but still… "But you started it."

"I know that," she bit her lip, "but I didn't mean to. And to me, it was like you just got mad all of a sudden and were trying to minimalize what your parents did to--

"Not minimalize it," he cut in, taking a step towards her. "I know what they did was wrong, but all my life I've had to hear people talk about them like they're evil incarnate and I couldn't listen to that again, especially from you." The fact that it had been someone he loved saying such mean things about his family had made it hurt even more. Sometimes he could disregard strangers, but he'd never be able to disregard Lauren.

"I know what you're saying," she unconsciously brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "but do you get that me--_my whole family_--we're the only people you should hear it from. We're the people it happened to--

"You're parents are the people it happened to; this shouldn't even affect me and you."

Her eyes held pity, for herself and for Nate. "In a perfect world, maybe, but you know that's not how things really work. If my father loses his job, yeah, it only happens to him, but we'll all have a harder life. And if my parents have a feud with some people they knew before I was born, yeah, it's their feud, but it's my feud too." She looked straight into his eyes then, practically willing him to understand. "Do you get that?"

"Of course I get it," his tone was almost an equal mix of weariness and annoyance. "That's why I couldn't just sit there and let you say that stuff about my father and mother. I love them just as much as you love your parents, and if your first instinct is to defend your family then what do you think my first instinct is?"

"Well then what are we supposed to do?" she whined, lips trembling pathetically. "I love my parents; you love your parents; but I still love you." He gasped at her admission, but the sound of her own sobs prevented her from hearing.

In fact, Lauren was so gone that like she'd done during their last conversation, Nate had to wonder if she even realized that she'd told him she was in love with him. And, the more he wondered the more he knew that he had to clear that particular matter up.

"You're in love with me?"

She was taken aback by the question until she replayed her last statement through her mind. Damn. She hadn't really meant to say that. But now that he knew the truth did it really matter if she admitted it, again.

"Yes," her voice was barely above a whisper, but Nate heard her loud and clear.

Yes, he'd thought that too much had been said between them, and, no he hadn't had a real plan or even been sure about what he was doing, but for some inexplicable reason as soon as Nate heard that single word he knew that everything was going to be alright—that everything _could_ be alright.

"Good, 'cause I'm in love with you too."

Lauren couldn't stop herself; she ran the short distance and jumped into his arms. She knew it was stupid--knew that all their problems still existed, knew nothing had been solved--but she couldn't help herself. It had been a horrible past couple of weeks and knowing that her ex was in love with her cheered her up.

"It feels so good to hold you," he told her, hating himself for feeling like crying.

She kissed him then, and when they finally broke apart he said, "And that felt even better."

Upon hearing applause the looked around and saw a small crowd, made up mostly of her girlfriends and Mikey and James, smiling at them.

"Thanks, Lauren," her friend with the up-do, Tricia, said, "I've always wanted an excuse to start a slow clap."

Almost instantly Lauren's smile was a frown, not because of the clapping, but because of what the clapping had done: brought her back to reality.

"This does feel good," she said, refocusing on Nate, "but what are we going to do? You're still on one side while I'm on another." She laid her head on his chest, almost afraid to move from her spot. "How are we ever going to work?"

Nate only thought about that a minute before the answer hit him like a tone of bricks. "Easy, we'll have to make one side."

Sending him an odd look, she asked, slowly, "meaning what exactly?"

He gave her a wink. "Meaning our parents, particularly our fathers, need to become friends again."

'_Oh, he must be high,' _she thought. Because even though she knew the mothers probably only needed a push, she knew her father would need something more along the lines of a gun in the back.

"Yeah," she said in response to his encouraging smile, "'cause that'll be easy." Her voice was dripping with so much sarcasm they were almost swimming in it.

**TBC…**

**Reviews Are Always Welcome!**

**A/N: **I'm so sorry about the ridiculous length of this chapter, but I really wanted Nate and Lauren back together by the end of this chapter so that the next chapter could focus primarily on their plan for their parents.

Even though I feel like I did too much in this chapter I hope y'all liked it!


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Sorry 'bout the wait, but duty (college) called. Every once in a while all my professors get together and decide that my time is theirs for the taking.

Disclaimer: Blah.

OOOOOOOO

Tony was sitting on the couch, head in hands, literally dreading the moment his sister walked through the front door. His original plan had been to keep his little visit with Nate to himself, but the more he'd thought about it the more he'd realized that it wasn't going to work. Sure, Bam and Johnny had promised not to tell anybody about their trip, but those two told their girlfriend's everything, well, almost everything. And Tony had no doubt they'd tell them this too. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but they had all grown up together--all ran together, and Tricia and Courtney were good friends of Lauren. As soon as Tricia and Courtney found out they'd have Lauren on a three-way call in no time. And Tony really didn't want Lauren to have to hear about it from someone else; at least if he told her he might be able to spin it enough that she wouldn't want to slug him.

Just when he had come up with an explanation/apology that he felt might work, he heard the door opening.

And when he saw his sister walk in with Nathan attached to her hip he almost fell out of his seat.

Lauren wasn't blind; she could clearly see the range of emotions playing across her brother's face. All at once he looked angry, dismayed, and relieved. But she chose to ignore all that; it was time to get down to business.

If she was going to fix things between the Shepherds and the Venturi family then she figured that she might as well start by fixing things between Nate and Tony; she had enough problems to worry about without worrying about them too.

Squealing and putting on an extremely happy face, she skipped over and gave her brother a bear hug. "Tony, Nate told me what you did," she told him.

While awkwardly patting his sister's back, Tony looked over her head at Nate, giving him a questioning look. "He did?"

"Mmm hmm." She nodded and pulled back to look up at him. "And not only was it just about the nicest, sweetest thing ever"--now she was laying it on kind of thick, but she had a good reason-- "but it also shows me how much you care."

Unsure of how to respond, he gave a noncommittal grunt.

"I mean, knowing that you care enough about me to put aside your differences with Nate just means so much to me. Thanks."

"Umm… you're welcome," her brother said, unsteadily. He didn't know why, but he got the horrible feeling he was being set up for something. He knew his sister, and though he didn't doubt that she was happy to be back with Nate, Tony seriously didn't think she'd be this overjoyed with him considering the way he'd gone about things. She'd never been the type of person who liked having their business bandied about, so he couldn't figure out why she was overlooking the fact that he had more or less put her on front street.

Glancing between her brother and boyfriend, smiling brightly, she said, "I really can't tell you how happy I am that the two of you are finally getting along and becoming friends."

"What?" the guys exclaimed simultaneously.

"I never--" "We are not--" The boys each tried to cut in, but Lauren wouldn't have it.

Pulling a sad face so quick that the boys almost got whiplash, Lauren began biting her lip and blinking rapidly. "But I thought you two were trying to be friends… for my sake." She wasn't getting much of a response so she started sniffling and working up some tears.

That did it. Sighing and dropping their heads, both boys nodded.

"Of course we're gonna try," Nate piped up. He felt like he'd just been through an emotional tornado. For the first time, he wondered if the saying about "guys ending up with their mothers" was true; because his girl definitely had a little bit of Casey in her.

"But we can't make any promises," Tony added quickly. Like Nate, he knew he was being manipulated, but also like Nate, he was defenseless against it. Because although Lauren may have been acting he knew that her desire for him and Nate to become friends was genuine. And not wanting his sister's fake tears to become real ones, he decided it was best to just give in.

Smiling once again, Lauren clapped her hands together. "Hey, that's all I ask. Now," she sighed, slightly relieved, "I'm going to get something to drink. You two play nice," she told them, before heading into the kitchen.

"What the hell was that?" Nate thought aloud, shaking his head.

"Welcome to my world," Tony mumbled, as he sat back down. For the thousandth time he wished that he had some sort of defense shield against his sister's tears; he really, _really_ didn't want to make nice with Nathan.

"I don't know how she got that you and I were friends now from what I told her about your visit," Nate said, more to himself than to Tony.

"What exactly did you tell her?"

"Nothing much." He shrugged. "Just that you came to see me and that you got me thinking about her." Smirking, he said, "don't worry; I left out the part about you almost getting your ass kicked."

Tony cocked an eyebrow. "And judging from her happy state, I'd say it's safe to assume that you left out the part where you referred to me as her pimp too, huh?"

Nate's smirk dropped, as his eyes narrowed. "I apologized for that," he hissed.

Standing, Tony walked the few feet to where Nate was and looked him right in the eye when he responded, "Yeah; you did. I might've forgiven you, and she might've forgiven you for whatever it was you did to make her dump you in the first place, but I certainly haven't forgotten how miserable you made my sister feel. So just so I don't have to keep repeating myself, let me make it clear now. If you ever hurt my sister again she could cry for two years and it won't stop me from kicking your ass."

Nate thought about that a moment and then nodded. "Fair enough. But let me make myself clear too. I don't like seeing your sister hurt either, so maybe you should take some of your own advice."

"Excuse me?"

"Lauren wants us to get along, right? In case you didn't notice from the impromptu performance she just put on, it seems kind of important to her," Nate said, sarcastically. "So instead of trying to pick a fight with me, why don't you at least pretend you're trying to do as she asked?"

"So, what- you gonna pick a fight with me if I won't be your friend?" Tony asked, mockingly.

"Yeah; something like that."

"So, guys, y'all having fun yet?" Lauren asked, as she made her way back into the room.

"Tons," Tony deadpanned. "And I really hate for our little party to break up, but maybe Nate should get out of here before mom and dad come home." _'Or before we come to blows,'_ he added silently. Really, who did the guy think he was- warning him against hurting his own sister? Like he was in the habit of making Ren feel crappy or something.

Lauren waved him off. "Oh, we've got some time. Besides aren't you curious as to why I brought him over here in the first place?"

"I just figured you had some sort of death wish; either that, or you wanted to see Dad's head explode."

"Ha ha," Lauren said, dryly. "Actually, we've"--she gestured to herself and Nate, who she was now leaning against-- "decided that in order for our relationship to work our parents need to get along," she declared, ignoring the disbelieving look her brother was sending her. "So we need to figure out a way to make that happen." She smiled at Tony. "That's where you come in."

"No it's not." Laughing, he shook his head. "As much as I would like to join in 'mission impossible', I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass." Helping to start World War Three just wasn't something Tony wanted to be a part of.

"Please," Lauren whined.

He started to refuse again, but a not-so-subtle throat clearing and a pointed look from Nate had him reconsidering. This was obviously another one of those things that was important to her; just like him becoming friends with Nate was important to her. _Damn_.

Sighing heavily, he muttered, "Fine. Let me guess," he looked back at Nate, "this was your idea, huh genius?"

Nate nodded, choosing to ignore Tony's jab.

"Figures." Tony shook his head. "I did get the impression that Shawn was the brains in your family."

Tony had meant it as an insult, but his comment gave Nate an idea. Out of the two of them Shawn was the brains of the operation--Nate was the muscle and brought the coolness factor--so if anybody could think of a plan that at least had the possibility of being successful it was his brother.

OOOO

"Ambush," Shawn said, using a dramatic stage whisper.

To say he was enjoying himself would've been quite the understatement--it wasn't everyday he got this kind of opportunity. When his brother had called him thirty minutes earlier, demanding that Shawn come meet him at the diner his mother and Emily used to frequent, Shawn had rushed out of the house, almost bursting with curiosity. And when he arrived and saw his brother sitting with the Shepherd twins his curiosity about doubled. Lauren, he could've understood, but what was Tony doing there?

He found out shortly. And after sitting down and listening to what his brother and the twins were trying to pull off, Shawn had almost told them that they'd have better luck pulling off a bank robbery. But when he realized that Nate had asked him there to get his advice on the matter; his whole attitude changed.

He could count the number of times his brother had asked for his advice on one hand. And like he'd done those few times it had happened, Shawn took it seriously. Nate didn't play when it came to genuinely asking for help, so Shawn thought about the problem at hand for a moment until one word popped into his mind- "ambush".

"Ambush?" Tony echoed.

"It'll probably be considerably easier with our mothers, but to get our fathers alone together we're going to have to surprise them. This is going to have to be a sneak attack," he reiterated. "I mean, I can't speak for Mr. Shepherd but I know there is no way my dad will willingly meet with yours. No offense," he said, sheepishly, to the twins.

"None taken." Tony was as realistic as the next person. "In fact, that may be the only thing that our fathers agree on: neither of them wants to see the other."

"So how do we get them together?" Nate asked, turning back to Shawn.

Shawn thought some more, and just when the Final Jeopardy song that was playing in his mind was about to stop, it hit him.

"Scratch what I said earlier," Shawn said, suddenly, "they don't need to be alone together. They would either leave as soon as they realized what was happening or they'd get into a fight and then leave. They're gonna need moderators."

"And who is going to do that?" Nate wanted to know.

"You," Shawn pointed to his brother, "and you," he added, pointing to Lauren.

"Why us?" Lauren asked, feeling set up.

"Well, for one, this is your brilliant idea," he said, giving them a pointed look. "And for another, contrary to what parents like to claim, I believe that they have a favorite offspring; and for dad"--he looked at his brother-- "you're it." When his brother looked poised to contradict him he held up a hand to ward him off. "I'm not saying dad loves you more; you're just more like him and I'm more like mom. Period."

Nate kept quiet; there wasn't really any way he could dispute that.

"Dad will be more receptive to you," Shawn said flatly. Shifting his attention to Lauren, he said, "and you, you just ooze 'daddy's girl'; you might as well be wearing a neon sign."

Chuckling, Tony agreed, "okay."

Lauren wondered briefly if she should be insulted, but she really couldn't dispute Shawn's claim either. She was a daddy's girl, and if there was such a thing as a "brother's girl" then she definitely held that title too.

"Okay," she nodded, "what exactly do you want us to do?"

"Each of you just need to take them to the same place; like a restaurant, or a--" Shawn was interrupted by a not-so-subtle throat clearing from their waitress. The girl had been hanging around their table an awful lot, almost to the point that she was neglecting her other customers. Shawn couldn't tell if she was trying to get a good tip or if she was just extremely nosy.

Having successfully gotten the group's attention, Mya said, "Not that this is any of my business--

All the teens eyebrows shot up considerably; it sounded an awful lot like she was about to make it her business.

"--but if you get Derek and Sam in a restaurant together won't they still probably just get into a fight and end up being kicked out, even if you two are there?"

Mya hadn't seen Emily and Casey in a while, but as soon as she'd seen their kids it was obvious who they were. Casey's older son had her eyes and the younger one had her face and hair, and Emily's daughter just looked like a mini Emily but with green eyes and lighter hair.

Knowing who they were, Mya had purposely hung around their table and kept an ear out for pieces of their conversation. And when she realized what they were up to she knew she wouldn't be able to stay away.

However, the teens weren't near as well informed as Mya; they had absolutely no idea who she was.

"And you are?" Tony asked.

"I'm Mya. I'm a friend of your mother… sort of anyway. Emily and Casey let me sit in on their conversations."

_'Yeah, 'cause that's not weird or anything,'_ Lauren thought, while nodding politely.

"Okay, let's say you have a point," Shawn said, referring to her earlier comment. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Well," Mya plopped down next to Lauren, forcing her and Nate to squeeze even closer together, "your restaurant idea could work, but it would have to be some place that they had no chance of being kicked out of if they got in a fight or got loud. Some place where they maybe knew the owner or manager… some place that was so happy to have customers that they'd be willing to look past the patron's behavior…" she let her voice trail off.

Shawn rolled his eyes. If the girl had been hinting any harder she would've been hitting them over the head with it.

"Some place like here?" he guessed.

"This place would be perfect," she said. "My cousin is the manager and I know he'll be cool about it." She kept her voice level and serene, but inside she was jumping up and down. She had wanted to get a look at the infamous Sam and Derek for a while now and it was finally about to happen.

The teens all shared a look, before Shawn nodded and said, "this place it is then. The sooner this all happens, the better. So since tomorrow is Saturday just bring Sam and Derek here around…" he glanced at Mya.

"I get off at three tomorrow, so any time before then is fine," she supplied.

"Alright; let's just say noon then," Shawn suggested and everyone nodded.

"But what are you going to do about your mothers?" Mya wanted to know.

"I think mom meant it when she said she wasn't going to contact Emily anymore," Nate told them. "So, somehow you," he looked at Tony, "are going to have to get her to our house."

"And just how do you suppose I do that?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something," he said smartly. He was smirking too, until a look from Lauren had him straightening up his face. It amazed him how all women--no matter what their age--seemed to have the ability to make that perfect stern mom face.

"Come on, Tony," his sister had turned on her cheerleader voice, "you can do it. I'm sure you'll come up with something."

He may have rolled his eyes, but he nodded in response anyway. Anything to get this odd little meeting of the minds to end.

"And how are we supposed to get our fathers here?" Nate asked.

"We'll just have to think of something too," Lauren responded cheekily, before grinning up at Nate.

"Wait," Mya said suddenly, having finally put two and two together, "are you two together?"

They nodded.

"Well, that's… interesting." _'This must be why I haven't seen Casey and Emily for a while.'_ She almost laughed. _'Oh, I bet Emily loved this.'_

"That's one word for it," Tony and Shawn muttered simultaneously.

"Okay," Lauren drawled, glowering at her brother, "so are we done here or what?"

"I'd say so," Tony put in. He'd had enough 'bonding with the Venturi boys' time for one day.

"Wait- should we synchronize our watches?" Shawn asked, voice excited.

Sending him a look one might give a particularly annoying toddler, Nate asked slowly, "do you want us to synchronize our watches?"

"Well, kinda." Really, how many opportunities to do this would he get?

Tony laughed, but he glanced down at his watch and called out the time. In short order, despite some huffing and a couple of eye rolls, they had their watches synchronized; even Mya joined in.

"Hey," Shawn grinned, "if y'all have those phones with the chirp we can use code names and--

"Don't push it," Nate said, interrupting. The watch thing had met his dorky things quota for the day.

OOOO

Feeling her father's stare, Lauren looked up from the directions she was reading and asked, "What's wrong?"

Refocusing on the road ahead, Sam responded, "not that I'm complaining or anything, but what exactly changed?"

"Huh?"

"I've noticed the silent treatment you've been giving me the past couple of weeks." How could he have not? It was the most vocal silent treatment he'd ever witnessed--the girl could throw a tantrum like an old pro. "And now out of the blue you want us to have lunch… so what changed? he repeated.

"Nothing; I just thought about what you and mom said and realized that you had a point." This was sort of true. "Things being the way they are, there is no way a relationship between Nate and I could've worked out." And that was just vague enough that it was completely true.

Sam glanced at her skeptically. Considering how upset she'd been it was hard to believe that her sudden about face was genuine, but she sounded so sincere that he couldn't help believing her.

"Well, good," he nodded happily, feeling more lighthearted than he had in days. It was nice having his daughter back, even if she did have him wasting a half a tank of gas, driving to God knows where, so that they could get a hamburger.

OOO

"So how did you hear about this exhibition game?" Derek asked, as he maneuvered around a particularly sharp curve.

An amateur may have been caught off guard, but Nate had his lie all ready. "My coach told us about it. Coach Riley said that these guys really put on a show and I thought it might be fun to check it out," he explained.

Derek nodded and asked, "Didn't we leave a little early though? I thought you said this thing didn't start 'til one," he recalled.

"It doesn't. But I thought we could stop someplace and eat first. That diner mom likes is on the way," he added in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone.

"Sound's cool," Derek said, shrugging. He'd never been one to turn down food.

OOO

"Hey, baby," Emily greeted as she walked into the kitchen and dropped a kiss on her son's head. "I was thinking, since your father and sister are on a lunch date, why don't the two of us do something together?"

Tony smiled--maybe this was going to be a little easier than he thought.

"Okay," he agreed, readily.

"Do you want to go to lunch?"

"Nope; I want to go visit Casey," he told her bluntly. Tony had learned long ago that it was best to be direct with his mother; beating around the bush didn't work with Emily.

"Y-y-you want to what?" she stuttered. "But you're like…" she gestured somewhat helplessly, completely at a loss as to where this was coming from, "not only a member, but also the president of the I Hate Casey club."

"Okay," he could concede that point, "but you're the president of the I Miss Casey club," he shot back. "And since I'm also the chairman of the Cheer Up Mom committee I figured it's my duty to get a smile back on your face. So… let's go see Casey."

"I don't wanna," she said, pouting.

"Yes you do," he shot back.

"No. I. Don't." Her voice had risen steadily with every word. As if the loudness of her voice would somehow make her words ring truer.

It didn't. Tony could tell she was lying; she did that same weird eye thing his sister did. All he could hope was that they never tried to join in a poker game.

"Yes. You. Do," he repeated.

"No--

"Okay, mom," he grumbled. The last thing he felt like doing was having the type of argument a five year old would've been ashamed to participate in. She obviously wasn't going to give in that easily, and it wasn't like he had all the time in the world, so he decided to level with her. It'd probably get her even more riled up, but he was willing to bet cash money that it'd get her to talk to Casey too.

"Lauren got back together with Nate." Yeah, he was breaking his no snitching rule, but this was snitching with a purpose. Besides, hadn't Lauren told him to come up with something? This was something alright.

"What?" Emily bellowed.

"But wait," he paused, before saying dramatically, "there's more." He had to keep the smile off his face--this was almost fun. "She didn't take dad to lunch; she took him to meet Nate and Derek."

"What?" she repeated, eyes comically wide. This was bad. Phantom Menace bad. Great Expectations bad. Army of Darkness bad. Just very, _very_ bad.

"Do you know what will happen if your father and Derek Venturi are alone together in a room?"

"They'll discuss and solve their problems civilly and end the evening by deciding on a dowry?" Tony guessed, then had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at his mother's incredulous expression.

"Hell could freeze over right now and that still wouldn't happen, and you know it!"

"No, I don't." Well, yes he did, but admitting that wouldn't get him anywhere. "But, I'll tell you what I do know: Lauren and Nate are together. Period. And as much as you and dad," he left out himself, "may not like it you're gonna have to learn to deal with it." Emily started to interrupt, but he held up a hand. "Do you two really want to end up pulling a Nora and George and risk alienating her forever?" Emily had told him and Lauren about what George and Nora had tried to do at the notorious rehearsal dinner right after Casey told her--she still wasn't much for keeping gossip to herself.

"No," she mumbled. "I just want her to be happy, and I really don't think that Nathan Venturi can make that happen." A male Venturi was like the antithesis of happiness as far as Emily was concerned.

"Well, you're gonna have to let her find that out for herself." He walked over and placed a comforting arm on her shoulder. "And in the meantime you need to go make up with Casey and encourage dad to do the same with Derek, because Nathan will never get a fair shot at making her happy--it'll be impossible for either of them to get a fair shot at making the other happy--if the four of you are at each other's throats."

Emily thought about that for a minute, really thought. Tony had a point, he had a few good points, but was it enough to get her to set foot in enemy camp? To put it plainly: yes. Emily loved her parents, and she loved Sam unconditionally, but above all else she loved her children. And if Tony was right, if it was really a choice between loosing her daughter and trying to get along with Casey and Derek…

"Alright," she sighed heavily, "let's go see Casey."

Tony gave a sigh of his own. For a minute there he hadn't been sure whether he'd gotten through to her.

"Humph, I still think your daddy and Derek are going to end up tearing each other apart though," she told him as she walked to the living room to grab her purse.

Truthfully, that's what he thought too. But Tony wasn't fazed; that was Lauren's and Nate's problem. He'd done his good deeds for the day.

TBC…

A/N: This wasn't one of my favorites, but it was really one of those "had to be done" chapters. Next chapter should be better, but I make no promises.

Hate it? Like it? Drop me a line and let me know.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: So some of the timing in this chapter doesn't seem totally unbelievable I just wanted to remind you that the diner is closer to Casey's house than it is to Emily's. It was mentioned somewhere in OTB that Emily passed the diner whenever she visited her mother.

Disclaimer: Oh, you heard me the first five hundred times huh? Guess I don't have to keep doing this then. Thanks.

OOOOOOOO

She had gotten his text only moments earlier.

_Me and my dad r at a tbl in the bk near the RR. M is here. D doesn't suspect anything. _

When Lauren had talked to Nate on the phone last night they'd realized that they couldn't both arrive at the diner at noon. If their fathers ran into each other at the entrance, neither of them would ever make it inside. So, like the good boyfriend he was, Nate had volunteered to get their first. Thank God. She wasn't relishing this encounter at all, and every second that she didn't have to be there was one more second she could breathe easy.

But, before she knew it, they were at the diner too. _So much for breathing easy_.

"Is everything okay, Ren?" Sam asked, as he turned off the engine and pocketed the keys.

Trying to control her sweating as well as her breathing, Lauren turned to her father with a bright smile on her face. "Of course, daddy. Everything's fine."

He didn't believe her. People didn't usually ooze sweat and hyperventilate when they were _fine_. But they were just getting back to normal and he didn't want to push her away by asking her a bunch of questions. Besides, if Lauren was anything like her mother and Casey had been at that age, then she was probably just going through some sort of girly thing.

"Alright," he shrugged, "you ready?"

She nodded and gathered her purse. Then they were getting out the car, and walking up the stairs, and before she knew it she was leading him to Nate's table all the while thinking, _'this is either the smartest or the dumbest thing I've ever done.'_

When she heard her father's breath catch and he swore under his breath, she knew it was definitely the dumbest.

OOOO

_Ding Dong._

Before Casey could even sit down her glass of iced tea, Shawn was bounding down the stairs--jumping to clear the last five steps--and answering the door.

Taking in his eagerness with open amusement, she asked, "Are you expecting somebody?"

He responded with a grunt, and swung open the door. There, on the other side, stood an ever broody looking Tony and a weary looking Emily.

"Mrs. Shepherd," Shawn greeted Emily, his voice as cordial as he could make it without sounding like an ass. "Gov'nor," he said, voice taking on a cockney accent as he greeted Tony.

Laughing, Tony reached out and bumped the fist Shawn had extended. It was kind of hard to keep up his mug when Shawn was just so… odd.

Despite her anxiety, Emily had to keep her own lips from twitching as she followed Shawn into the living room. This one was definitely Casey's handiwork. And, minus the eyes, he didn't look a thing like Derek… thank God. That was one point in his favor right off the bat.

If things had been different she might've been able to enjoy the slacked jawed look Casey was wearing now that she could see just who her guests were. But it was hard to find enjoyment in what she was about to do--what she had to do for the sake of her family.

"Emily," Casey began, having found her voice, "I'm so glad--

"Please, be quiet," Emily snapped and then winced at Casey's hurt look. She hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but she really needed Casey to let her get everything out, uninterrupted. Emily had a feeling that if she didn't speak now she might be tempted to forever hold her peace. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Casey nodded, smiling faintly. Sure, Emily may have just snapped at her, but the fact that she'd come to visit her must've meant something good.

For their part, the boys both heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Emily's apology. For a second there they had thought things were going to be over before they even began.

Pausing for an almost awkwardly long amount of time, Emily struggled to find the words to explain what she was feeling and thinking. Right when Casey was going to try her luck and say something again, Emily spoke up.

"I missed you these past few weeks," she blurted out. Catching Casey's happy, but surprised, expression, she shrugged. "Yeah, it surprised me too. You see, somehow without me knowing it—without me really even wanting it—you've kind of, sort of, worked your way back into my good graces," she admitted. "What I'm saying is, we really are friends again… I guess."

It had almost pained Emily to admit it, but she knew her words were true. She'd had plenty of time to think about it during her Casey hiatus, and there was no two ways about it, she had definitely missed her arch enemy. And once she'd realized that she had missed Casey, Emily had to wonder how such a thing was even possible. You didn't miss your arch enemy. Unless, they weren't your enemy at all…

_'Yes!' _Casey cheered silently. Hadn't she told Derek that she could wear Emily down? Hadn't she told him that it was possible for Emily to contact her?

But even though Casey was ridiculously happy, she clamped down on her urge to run up and hug Emily. More than anything, she wanted to be friends with Emily again, but even she knew that it couldn't really happen this easily. There were still a couple of not-so-minor issues that they had to clear up first.

"If that's true," Casey paused, struggling to find a way to ask her question without making Emily renege on everything she'd just said, "then why did you freak out so much when you saw Nate and Lauren together. I mean, if we're friends, in any sense of the word, then why is my son dating your daughter so off-putting to you that you would cut me out of your life?"

It was an honest question, and Emily would give it an honest, if not an eloquent, answer.

"I may be on the road to forgiving you, but I know that I'll never forget how much your betrayal hurt," she told her. "Everyday, since I found out about you and Derek, I have been hurting—

"Em, I know," Casey attempted to interrupt, but Emily stopped her with a sad shake of her head.

"No, you don't know." _'You'll never know,' _she added silently. "Not only did you take the person who meant the most to me at that point in my life, but you did it in the most cold hearted way imaginable." Holding up a hand, she staved off the interruption she knew was coming. "I know that wasn't your intent…

From his spot beside Shawn, Tony was watching his mother in awe. His eyes held a new respect for Emily--he knew saying that must've killed a part of her, but she'd done it anyway. And all so his sister could have a shot at love.

"… but that's what happened; that's how it felt. And it hurt." No sobs escaped, but tears were running down her cheeks just the same. "Over the years, that hurt dulled though--it never came close to going away, and maybe it didn't really dull all that much, but I did feel better. But when I saw Nate and Lauren together that day," her voice broke and she glanced at the floor.

Rising from his seat, Tony let out a tentative, "mom?"

Wiping her eyes, Emily pulled it together enough to voice her real point. "I just never want my daughter to have to feel the way I felt."

"She won't have to; Nate would never hurt her," Casey said in defense of her son. _'Why do I feel like I've had this conversation before?'_ "He is _not_ Derek and Lauren is _not _you."

"You're right," Emily conceded. "But when I saw them together, I swear it was like looking back in time. I knew it was Nate and Lauren," she explained, conscious of the odd looks she was getting, "but my only thought was that history was about to repeat itself, and I couldn't let that happen."

"So you did forbid Lauren from dating Nate?" Casey asked, insulted. She had guessed as much, but she hadn't thought she'd ever know for sure.

"Yeah, I did," she confessed, guiltily. Now that Tony had pointed out all the risks involved with what she and Sam had done, Emily felt really bad about it. If she had lost Lauren over this there wouldn't have been anyone to blame but herself. "I shouldn't have though--it was wrong."

"Really?" Casey said, voice dripping with skepticism. "So the kids have your blessing?" She was trying not to sound too curious but she really wanted to know. Because as much as she did like Emily, Casey wasn't about to be friends with someone who didn't like her kids--someone who didn't think Nate was good enough for their daughter. People could do and say what they wanted to her, but her boys were off limits.

"Yes." Emily's face pinched like the word had left a bad taste in her mouth, but she'd definitely meant it.

Finally able to give in to her impulses, Casey hopped off the couch and enveloped Emily in one of her famous hugs.

"This is so great!" To say she was happy would've been quite the understatement—her smile could've lit up the whole room. "I knew you and I becoming friends again could happen."

_'That makes one of us,' _Emily thought. She was smiling though, and it wasn't even fake. Sure, she had about a million and one reservations about what was happening, but she would've been lying if she said that she didn't find some enjoyment in knowing that she and Casey were cool, at least relatively so, again. She hadn't been lying about missing her.

After a moment, Casey pulled back slightly and turned curious eyes to Emily's face. There was still one thing bothering her.

"Not that I'm complaining," she began, slowly, "but what sparked your sudden visit? I mean, I called you days ago." She paused, another thought having occurred to her. "And it's almost crazy how lucky your timing was, what with Derek and Nate both being gone." Casey knew her husband would've tried to throw salt had he been home, and she was sure Nate would've had something to say about Emily's concerns about him and Lauren.

Emily shot a furtive glance at her watch, and then mumbled, "yup, things are probably getting pretty _crazy_ right about now."

"What do you mean?" Casey asked, eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"Don't worry," she brought the strap of her purse back up to her shoulder, "I'll tell you all about it on the way."

"On the way? Where are we going?"

"Oh, just to make sure that our husbands don't get themselves arrested," she answered, nonchalantly, as she headed towards the coat rack. Ignoring Casey's wide-eyed look, she grabbed a jacket she'd seen Casey wear a few times and tossed it to her. "Grab your keys too. You're driving."

"B-b-but don't you think you should tell me what's going on first?" Casey sputtered, still dumbfounded by Emily's words.

"I'll tell you on the way," she repeated. "Trust me, we don't have time to get into it now; we may already be too late."

As puzzled as she was, Casey followed Emily's instructions and grabbed her keys. She barely had time to put on her jacket before Emily was dragging her out the door.

"Wow, your mom looked freaked," Tony said, once their mothers had gone.

"Oh, she was definitely freaked," Shawn confirmed. "She didn't even remind me where the emergency numbers were before she left, and she's forgotten to do that… like… never." Snapping out of his wonderment almost as quickly as he had fallen into it, Shawn asked, "so, you ready?"

"For what?"

"What do you mean 'for what'?" Shawn was grinning broadly. "We're going to the diner too."

"You can," Tony plopped back into his seat, "but I'm not." He'd completed his part of the plan—the "diner brawl" was Nate and Lauren's gig.

Sighing, Shawn said, "Look, Tony, we could argue about it for a while until I convinced you to go, but why don't you save us all the effort and give in now. Come on," he was grinning again, "do I really seem like the type to give up easily?"

_'No,'_ Tony answered silently. Shawn seemed like the type of person who would start singing show tunes or something just as annoying, until Tony agreed to whatever he wanted just to get him to shut-up.

"Fine," he grumbled. "I'm coming, I'm coming." Between hearing Shawn's rendition of "Memories" and watching his family make a public spectacle of themselves, the choice was clear. "Public Spectacle" won by a landslide.

OOOO

"Daddy, I--" Lauren broke off suddenly. The look her father was sending her held so much disappointment, so much anger, and so much sadness that she almost called the whole thing off right there. Almost. She knew she couldn't do that though. Her family needed this, even if it hurt, even if it made her father more angry with her than he'd ever been before--her family had to see this through so that everyone could move on.

She wasn't expecting them to declare their undying friendship--she wasn't delusional. But some sort of agreement needed to be reached between her father and Derek.

There wasn't any disappointment in Derek's eyes when he regarded his child, only anger. He knew a set up when he saw one; there was no way the Shepherds showing up at this particular diner, at this particular time, on this particular day was a coincidence. Nope, his son and Emily's little replica over there were definitely up to something.

Maybe anger wasn't even the word for it. Nathan had seen his father angry before, and this wasn't it. Sure, he'd heard a few stray stories before about how his father used to have a bit of an anger problem, but he'd never witnessed any truly frightening Derek-anger firsthand. But the way his father was looking at him then, well it was very frightening indeed.

Taking a deep breath, Derek used all of his strength to turn away from Nate, who could be dealt with later, and focus on the problem at hand- Sam. The guy looked like he was about to pass out… or take a swing at somebody. Derek figured it was best to diffuse the situation before it got any tenser.

"I'm sorry about this, Sam," Derek said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck. "I had no idea that our children were…" he paused, "Look, I didn't know you'd be here." He took out his wallet, threw some cash on the table and said, "We'll just leave and we can all pretend that this didn't happen. No harm, no foul."

"Wait a minute," Sam's voice was low, but it was Tone Loc-raspy and the sound of it caused everybody to look at him. "You see me for the first time in God knows how many years and _that's_ what you choose to apologize for." Taking a step forward, he leveled Derek with a threatening look. "Yeah, you better leave. I'd hate to have to kick your ass in front of your kid."

"Daddy," Lauren hissed, but one look from her father had her lips clamping shut.

"I'm sorry," Derek said, mockingly, as he sat his jacket back down on the diner seat. Apparently, they weren't leaving just yet, after all. "What would you have liked me to say?" His tone couldn't have been more condescending. "'I'm sorry I took your girlfriend from you _when we were in college?'_ Or maybe, 'I'm sorry I took your wife's…'" he trailed off, smirking. "Well, we all know what I took from Emily."

"Dad," Nate said, shaking his head back and forth, disgusted by his father's comment. That had just been low.

Nobody really heard Nate though, because everybody, Lauren, the sparse staff, and the other four or five customer were too busy watching the fight.

Derek had barely gotten his little dig about being Emily's first all the way out before Sam had thrown a punch.

Lauren stood watching, amazed at what she was seeing. It was the first time she had seen her father in an honest to goodness fight, and she didn't know whether to be embarrassed at the scene he was making or happy that at least he seemed to fighting Derek because of what he had said about Emily, instead of what he had said about taking Casey.

Hopping over the table in such a way that conveyed his natural athletic skill, Nate joined Lauren without getting caught up in the melee.

"What should we do?" she asked. When Derek landed a solid punch to her father's jaw she added, "This isn't helping anything."

Nate begged to differ. He thought working off some of their… energy would be good for them, but since Lauren sounded like she might cry or something he started looking around for Mya. He didn't have to look too far--she was right behind him.

Of course she was right behind them. She'd been lurking around since Nate and his father had set foot in the joint. And when Sam and Lauren had walked in, she'd given up almost all pretenses of working. She'd been waiting too long to see the patriarchs of the Venturi and Shepherd clans and find out what they were like, and she wasn't about to let a silly thing like work get in the way. Actually, both Sam and Derek had been exactly what she was expecting. They both looked successful and handsome, but where Derek seemed to have this sort of smartass/jokester quality to his personality, Sam looked just as broody as his son.

"Hey," he began, causing her to tear her gaze away from Sam and Derek, "do you think that cousin of yours would help me break them up?"

Aww, Mya almost hated to call Tommy over; she'd kind of been looking forward to seeing who would win. Derek seemed tougher but Sam was angrier and anger could go a long way in a fight. She wanted to stall and get to see the outcome, but Lauren had on her sad Anime eyes and Nate was doing his best Tony impression so she sighed and whistled for Tommy. He was by her side in an instant and after some rushed introductions Tommy helped Nate separate the still fighting duo.

It took some effort, but they were able to pull them apart. Both the men were swearing under their breath, but they didn't resist the holds Tommy and Nate had on them.

_'They're probably too winded to resist,'_ Mya thought, giggling quietly.

"Daddy--" Lauren began, but Sam tore out of Tommy's arms and rounded on his daughter.

"Is this what you wanted?" he asked sharply. Because, really, he couldn't figure out what his daughter could've been thinking when she set him up like that.

"O-o-of course not," she managed to stutter out, all the while shrinking under the intensity of his glare. "I just wanted you and Mr. Venturi to see each other, so you could, you know… maybe work some things out." Her volume had decreased with each word--her father was looking at her like he was trying to decide whether she was most naïve or the stupidest person he'd ever met. And it looked a lot like he was leaning towards stupidest.

"Yeah, cause that was gonna happen," Derek mumbled sarcastically. _'Was this girl competing with Casey for the Annoyingly Hopeless Chick of the Year Award?'_ "Really, what were you thinking?" he asked, unknowingly voicing Sam's thoughts exactly.

"I don't--" her voice broke before she could finish and she got the awful feeling that she was about to dissolve into tears. Things were just going badly. Lauren had played this out in her head dozens of times--she hadn't expected her task to be even the tiniest bit easy. But nothing, none of the scenarios she had run through her mind, had successfully prepared her. There really was nothing like the real thing.

Stepping away from his father, Nate moved to stand beside Lauren. As he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders he turned to his father and answered for her. "She was thinking that it would be nice to help your unreasonable asses," he said, looking between his father and Sam, "see how ridiculous it is to be feuding about something that happened when you were in college." Under his father's incredulous gaze, Nate lost a little of his blunder and added a semi-squeaky "Sir" to his statement.

Luckily for Nate, or maybe unluckily, it was Sam who addressed him next, not his seething father.

"I strongly suggest," his voice had that 'it's taking everything in me to keep my anger in check' quality to it, "that you remove your hands from my daughter." Sam wasn't sure if it was Nathan having his arm around his daughter that was making him upset, or that half the time he wasn't even seeing them, but was seeing Derek with his arm around Emily. He was pretty sure that it was probably a combination of both though.

"Or what?" Derek wanted to know. Though he had to admit to himself that the sight of his son and Lauren was freaky--it flooded him with memories of the past. If he hadn't have known any better he would've sworn that he had gone back in time.

Nate spoke up before Sam could respond to his father's very thinly veiled threat. "She's my girlfriend and I'll put my hands anywhere I want." Well, it was more like he'd put them anywhere she'd let him. "And if I want to comfort her I will. Just like if I want to do this," he paused and leaned in and kissed her, "I will."

Narrowing her eyes, Lauren pinched him as covertly as she could manage. All that hadn't been necessary—he was just trying to piss off her father.

Mission accomplished.

Grabbing his daughter's arm, Sam removed Lauren from Nate's grasp by force. He sort of dragged her to his side, and his grip on her arm was anything but loose.

"Dad," she whimpered, "you're hurting me."

Nate made a move to go to her, but Derek placed a restraining hand on his shoulder and held him in place. That wasn't any of their concern; Derek was not about to let his son get any more caught up in the Shepherd craziness than he already was.

His father may have been able to hold him in place, but he couldn't make him hold his tongue. "You hear that?" He asked Sam. "You're _hurting_ her, and in more ways than one. So why don't you stop acting all psycho and sit down so we can talk about this reasonably, like adults."

Sam let go of Lauren and turned the full weight of his anger on Nate. "Why don't you shut the hell up?!" He wasn't in the habit of swearing at strange kids, but, then, being around members of the Venturi family made him do lots of things he didn't normally do.

"You got a problem with my kid?" Derek asked, releasing Nate and moving to stand in front of him.

"Yeah," Sam took a step forward of his own, "but I've got an even bigger one with you and the 'obsess over everything that belongs to Sam' trait you seemed to have passed along to him."

_'Excuse me? Who was Sam calling obsessive?'_ "God, you're bitter." Derek shook his head. "I guess I would be too though if I lost everyone who ever mattered to me." Laughing, he added, "I've gotta wonder how much longer you'll have Emily."

Sam pretended to think for a moment. "Well, as long as she doesn't leave me for a man-whore with a fetish for chicks he's related to I'm sure I'll be fine," he deadpanned.

It was Derek who threw the first punch that time.

"Why did you kiss me like that?" Lauren hissed at Nate. "Were you trying to make my dad have a stroke?"

Once he'd made his way to her, he answered. "No. I was just trying to get through to him," he explained, defensively. "Seriously, he needs to relax."

"Oh, my dad needs to relax?" she asked, glancing pointedly at the floor where the two men were still rolling around. "This is hard for him, and your father isn't making things any easier with all his cracks about my mom. What's he trying to pull anyway? We all know he never loved her."

"It's called strategy, Lauren. Your mom is his weak spot, so my dad's gonna use it to get to him," he told her in a very patronizing voice. "Besides, he's just responding to your dad's asshole comments."

"So my dad's an asshole?" She took a step away from him. "Is that what you're saying?"

Nate let his initial response die on his lips. He was not about to let them slip back into this. "No," he sighed, "that's not what I meant, and I'm sorry for saying it."

She seemed slightly appeased.

"So instead of us fighting with each other, let's break the two of them up and see if we can keep 'em that way."

"Good idea," Mya interjected. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, but, really, she had been watching and listening to the whole thing. Seriously, this stuff was better than her stories. "How exactly do you plan to do it though?"

Both teens thought about that for a moment. How exactly _were_ they going to do it? Unless…

"Baby," Nate said to Lauren, "do you remember when me and your brother got in that fight, how you got us to stop?"

"Sure," she responded, readily, "so what?" He just stared at her a second until she got it. "Oh, okay; hold on a sec."

Putting on a determined face, Lauren marched over to the grappling duo and, just like she'd done with Nate and her brother, she tried to separate them and ended up getting "pushed" on her back for her efforts. And, just like it had worked then, it worked here. Sam was on his feet and helping her up in a second.

"What were you doing?" he asked, voice dripping with worry. Her tears worried him greatly and made him feel guilty. Whatever his feelings for Derek, he had never wanted to hurt his baby girl.

"I-I-I," she was stuttering and crying like crazy, "I just wanted you two to stop fighting," she wailed.

Derek stepped back from her like her tears were an infectious disease. Maybe they were, because they sure were making him feel sick. He didn't like to see any woman cry, especially little girls, and especially when he was at least partially to blame for their tears.

"Are you okay?" Sam was looking her over--unsure of what had happened. All he had seen was her hitting the floor. "Did we hurt you?"

"You better not have," a distinctly angry voice said in the background.

Lauren almost sagged in relief. By some miracle her mother was there and she didn't seem to be angry at Lauren. Thank God.

"_You_ better not have either," Casey said to Derek as she and Emily made their way to their families.

Emily marched over to Sam and dragged him to the side. It shook her to be so close to Derek, but she refused to focus on that. She had bigger fish to fry at the moment.

"All right, fighters, to your corners," a voice announced while a bell rung.

Shawn couldn't believe his luck--he and Tony had arrived just in time to see their mothers separate their fathers. Turning to his companion, he said, "I told you the bell would come in handy."

Tony dipped his head. "I stand corrected."

Shocked as they were at seeing the newly arrived teens, everyone had ceased in their actions for a moment. But as the boys joined their siblings and Mya, the activity all picked back up.

"I wondered if you guys would show," Mya commented.

"Why? Who would want to miss all this?" Tony asked, sarcastically.

"Speaking of missing things, why don't you feel us in on what happened?" Shawn asked.

OOOO

Casey smacked Derek upside the head. "Please enlighten me. Tell me why _you_ look so pissed." She heaved a breath, "I mean, at least Sam has a reason to be mad. We're the cheaters, remember?"

"Yes, I remember." He was seething and it was taking everything in him not to snap on her. "But Sam's a bastard. He may have been innocent then but he was asking for it today."

Sighing, she said, "that may very well be true. But next time he asks you to put your foot in his ass, please refrain from doing so."

She was being smart, but he gave her a real answer. "I can't promise that."

OOOO

While Casey was trying to talk some sense into her husband, Emily was trying her very best to do the same.

"I know how you feel, Sam." Actually, she wouldn't mind giving Derek a slap herself. "But you need to stop this. This feud we have with them has got to stop."

Sam's jaw dropped. "When did you come to that decision?" As far as he'd known they had been on the same page just earlier that day. "When I left the house?"

"Well… yeah actually," she answered sheepishly. "I really think it's for the best."

"Yeah, well, allow me to disagree." He folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think its for the best, and I never will think that," he said, voice as petulant as a three year olds.

He didn't have to tell her; she could see what he thought of what he was hearing. But he was wrong about one thing: he would come around to her way of thinking, eventually.

"Since you're not ready to listen to reason, we'll just have to adjourn until later," she told him.

"What?"

Ignoring his question, she walked away and left him in the corner. Emily then called Casey, who seemed similarly fed up, to her side and the two women whispered back and forth for a moment.

Then, Emily said loudly, "This is what's gonna happen. We're all going to go home and calm down a bit, and then tomorrow we'll all meet back here at two o'clock for an early Sunday dinner." Her tone discouraged argument, and, really, everyone was too shocked to respond.

"So, Lauren, tell your boyfriend,"--Emily tripped a little on the word, but she got it out, "goodbye, and you and your brother head to your car. I'll ride with your father." She looked at her husband and said, "come on, Sam."

They all, especially Sam, hesitated a moment, but eventually did as she'd instructed and left.

Casey herded her troops out in much the same way, and before Mya knew it the diner was free of Venturis and Shepherds.

"So," Mya said, turning towards her exhausted and somewhat frightened looking cousin, "can I come in to work tomorrow?"

TBC…

A/N: This chapter killed me. It's been redone so many times. I don't even really like this one, but I figured you guys had waited long enough. Sorry if it sucked. Let me know what you thought, I can take it. Really.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: I bet you can't believe I already have another chapter up lol. What can I say? I was on a roll. Actually, this chapter was originally going to include a lot more stuff, but it was pushing six thousand words (and I wasn't near being done) so I had to cut it in half. The stuff I cut out (plus more) will be in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Nope. Not doing it. Now what?

Shout out to Amanda!

OOOOOOOO

"So, are you done giving me the silent treatment?" Emily asked as she shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on the coat rack.

The ride home had been beyond uncomfortable, what with Sam refusing to talk to her and choosing instead to glance at her every five minutes with extra sad puppy dog eyes. His sad face was worse than usual too; one of his eyes looked like he was auditioning to be in the Rocky remake and it made his face look even more, well, sad.

She knew her about-face on the whole hate the Venturi's issue had made things rocky between them, and she had the feeling things were probably going to get a lot worse before they got any better.

"That depends," he folded his arms across his chest, "are you done acting crazy?"

"You were rolling around a grimy floor, fighting some guy you haven't seen in years, and in front of your kids no less; but I'm the one acting crazy?"

"This is nothing to joke about," Sam said, jaws tight. He was really having trouble finding any humor in their current situation.

"You're absolutely right," she agreed. "Which is why I think we should sit down and discuss everything like adults."

Her words reminded him of what Nathan had said to him at the diner, and the memory did very little to improve his mood.

"Just like you discussed things with me before you decided to join Team Venturi?" he retorted, sarcastically.

Emily looked almost insulted. "I didn't join 'Team Venturi'. I'm trying my damndest to keep Team Shepherd alive, and even though it's the fourth quarter and we're down by a field goal I'm getting almost no help from my kicker," she said in exasperation.

"What? Who's the kicker?" Sam asked, confused. "Am I the kicker?"

"Yeah, Vanderjack, and you're F-ing things up."

"How exactly am I doing that?" he wanted to know. "I mean, excuse me, I'm sorry if by trying to save my daughter from a lot of unnecessary heartache I've somehow interfered with your relationship with your new _bestest_ friend Casey," he said mockingly.

When she responded it was obvious from her own tone how much his had grated on her nerves. "Maybe if you pulled your head out of your ass for a second you'd be able to see that there is a method to my madness."

"So," he quirked an eyebrow, "you admit that you're mad?"

"Now who's making a joke out of it?" she huffed, before plopping down on the couch.

"No, no. I'm not joking." He leaned against the staircase, all the while regarding her coolly. "I really think you've lost your mind."

"And I _really think_ you're about to get slapped upside the head." She was having about enough of him talking to her like that.

"But I thought fighting was bad," he said, feigning confusion. "Or is it just wrong when I'm beating up on your precious Derek?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Sam knew it had been the wrong thing to say. It wasn't that Emily looked angrier than she had before; it was more like she looked like she might dissolve into tears at any second.

Actually, she was trying very hard not to do that very thing. Sure, she and Casey may have been friends now, but Derek was… well, she wasn't sure what Derek was but she knew he was anything but precious to her. And she certainly wasn't looking forward to having to talk to him tomorrow.

Inhaling sharply, she turned accusing eyes to him. "How could you say that to me? You know," she paused, swallowing her cries so he wouldn't know just how deeply his words had affected her, "how I feel about that man."

"No, I don't," he said fiercely. "That's what I keep trying to tell you- I have no idea what you could possibly be thinking right now. None of this—not you and Casey, not you supporting Lauren and Nathan—makes any sense to me."

"Well, I'm trying to explain it to you; so why don't you come over here and let me."

Her words hung heavy in the air and for a moment she and Sam simply stared at each other.

Sam seriously considered ignoring her and going upstairs to bed, but whatever he saw in her eyes stopped him. It wasn't anger, or even really sadness; it was something akin to desperation, and it tugged at his heartstrings. Sighing and inwardly berating his decision, he made his way over to his wife and sat next to her on the couch.

"Explain," he demanded.

_'Okay…'_ "So, truthfully, I really do like Casey again—I genuinely want to be her friend." Sam rose out of his seat a bit, looking ready to bolt, but Emily place a hand on his knee and pushed him back down. "But that's not the reason I am ready to give Lauren permission to date Nate now." He sent her a disbelieving look, but she soldiered on. "I don't think that Nathan is the guy for Lauren; heck, I don't really think he's the guy for anyone. Good boyfriends do not a Venturi make."

Finally, some sense out of the woman. "Then why--"

Silencing his interruption with a scowl, she continued. "Now, that being said, what I think about Nate doesn't really matter. It's what Lauren thinks about him that counts."

"So we're letting our kids make all their own decisions now?" Sam asked incredulously. "So tomorrow when Tony wants to start shooting heroin and Lauren signs up to work for that call girl service—

"You really think _that's_ going to happen?" she asked in a monotone.

"Well… no."

"Then shut-up and let me finish." After seeing his reluctant nod, Emily asked, "Do you know how often Derek and Casey have seen George and Nora since the rehearsal fiasco?"

_'Way to switch subjects.'_ "Umm… no."

"Zero; zero times," her voice was almost hysterically high, but Sam didn't seem to have any idea why what she was saying should mean anything to him. "Think about it, Sam. George and Nora each tried to keep their child away from someone they loved, and as a result said children pretty much ran off and stayed away." Emily had spoken slowly, waiting on her words to sink in.

Sam shrugged. "Well, that's too bad for George and Nora," he said, sounding anything but sympathetic. Really, he didn't hold any grudges towards them, but their problems were of no concern to him. In fact, he figured they'd lucked out- who would want to be in touch with their children if they were like Derek and Casey? "But that could never happen to us," he said confidently.

"How do you know?"

He didn't know how he knew; he just knew that he did. And, really, he couldn't believe that Emily _didn't_ know any better. "I just do, okay."

"No," she shook her head, "not okay." Emily didn't see how he could still be acting like this after what she'd just told him. After Tony pointed it out to her she'd been willing to give in, but Sam was still acting all nonchalant. "I'm not gonna loose my baby because you can't swallow your damn pride and sit in a room with Derek without wanting to kill him."

"If you had heard what he said," Sam began as he jumped off the couch.

"Then I'm sure I would've wanted to fight him too," Emily finished for him. Getting off the couch, she moved to stand toe to toe with him. "I get that. I get that he pushes your buttons," she yelled. "And I'm not asking you to be his friend, or hang out with him, I'm not even asking you to be nice to him." She was crying now and breathing heavily, her words coming out high and loud. "All I'm asking is for you to not let your hate for him get in the way of our daughter's happiness."

"Emily--" He tried to interrupt then, but she wasn't having it. Nope. Emily was on a roll now.

"Let's say we forbid her to date him again," she said, "then what? We know she'll keep seeing him—she certainly did the last time." Sam's frown deepened but at least he seemed to be listening now. _Really_ listening. "So we'll try harder, which will only push them closer together. But then we'll make her choose right?" Her eyes were wild, blazing. "Us or him." She paused, then, "We'll lose, Sam."

"No--"

"Yes; we _will_ lose." _'Good,' _she thought, _'he's finally starting to look scared.' _"That's how it always ends in situations like this." '_Hasn't he ever read a book? Seen a Lifetime movie?'_ "We. Will. Lose."

His head was shaking back and forth, furiously. "No we won't."

"Damn right we won't," she agreed. "Because you're gonna bite the bullet, go to dinner tomorrow and talk to Derek and Casey, and accept that boy, aren't you?"

When Sam didn't answer she cocked an eyebrow at him and repeated herself. "Aren't you?"

_'Am I?' _Was he? Yes, he definitely was, because just like Emily did, he loved his children above all else. Even if he didn't always show it, even if he had screwed up a lot, even if he hated the Venturi family with a passion, he loved his babies. And he would accept that boy if it was the only way he'd be fully accepting his daughter.

"Yes, I am."

OOOO

"Nathan," Derek bellowed as soon as he and Casey entered the house, "get down here."

Shocked as she was at hearing her husband's voice—he hadn't spoken during the entire ride home, choosing instead to stew in silence—Casey almost didn't react. But, luckily for Nate, she did.

"Stay upstairs, Nate," she yelled in response. And just as soon as she did, she heard a door slam shut. Thank goodness. The last thing she needed was for Derek to start yelling at everybody and ruin everything.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, head spinning around to glare at his wife.

"What the hell are _you_ doing?" she shot back.

"Well, since you and Emily have obviously taken leave of your senses, I'm going to have to fix this mess you've created."

In response to his overly patronizing voice, Casey folded her arms across her chest and shot him a heated glance. "Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning," he mocked, "I'm not about to let my kid get caught up with Sam's crazy ass or his daughter. So, you can just call Emily up right now and cancel that dinner because it isn't happening."

"Why are you acting like this now?" Casey asked; voice an equal balance of confusion and anger. "We've discussed Nate and Lauren before—you knew they liked each other. And even though you didn't like it, even though you were sure that Emily and Sam would disapprove, you still didn't forbid him from seeing her. So why do you want to do it now?"

"That was all before I had the _pleasure_ of seeing Sam again," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "It was before I was introduced to just what kind of craziness Nate will have to put up with if he's dating that girl—

"That's what the dinner tomorrow is for," she interrupted, "to put a tap on the 'craziness', as you call it."

"Besides," he kept right on talking as if he hadn't heard her, "Lauren is a bad influence; you should have heard the way your son was talking to me."

"Lauren's a bad influence?" she repeated incredulously. _'Has he met our son?'_ "Since when has Nate needed _anyone_'s influence to do something bad?" Nope, Nate had always been able to find his own way into trouble.

Derek just huffed. Okay, so she might've had a point. But it wasn't everyday that his son cussed at him in the middle of a restaurant. Besides making him angry, it had kind of shaken him up.

"So, tell me, Derek, just what did he say to you?" It was obvious from her tone that she was making fun on him.

Derek was silent a moment, then, "He called me an ass."

_'Really?' _Nate and Derek were thick as thieves—as close as a father and his teenage son could be. This _was_ surprising, but after she thought about it a minute, it wasn't that hard to believe, especially if… "Were you being an ass?"

"That's beside the point," Derek finally answered after a very long, very telling pause.

"Is it?" she asked pointedly. "I don't know what you did or didn't do to Nate and Lauren." She had a few guesses though; the girl had been crying when she and Emily had walked in. "But think about how you would've reacted—you've never taken crap from anybody, even your own father."

"Okay," he conceded. "But I'm nothing like my father," Derek said sounding insulted. And he was. George was a bastard, and Derek resented the implication that they were anything alike.

"Really," she paused, then, "because this all seems _real _familiar to me."

"It's not the same," Derek said, having caught her meaning. "It's not even close to being the same. What our parents wanted to do—wanting to keep us apart when they knew we were in love, and just because they couldn't deal with it—was just plain evil." His words were harsh and raw and his voice shook a little as he spoke. Even after all these years, the memory of what the parents had tried to do still filled him with an almost uncontrollable rage.

"And what you want to do isn't?" she snapped, unable to believe that he really couldn't see the similarities.

"No," he shot back. "And I'll tell you why. You and I were in love, but Nate's… well, Nate. He doesn't fall in love; he'll be able to bounce back," Derek said, sounding sure of himself.

After Derek spoke the most intense wave of déjà vu hit Casey. Hadn't they had this exact same conversation before? "You keep saying that Nate's not in love, that he's like incapable of it. But you saw him these past couple of weeks when he and Lauren were broken up right?" She waited for some sort of reaction, and when he gave a reluctant nod she continued. "How did he look?"

"What?"

"How. Did. He. Look?" she repeated. "More importantly, what did how he looked remind you of?"

_'What did it remind me of?'_ Derek grimaced, trying to recall what Nate had looked like. Actually, he hadn't really seen the boy all that much, which was odd in and of itself. They usually spent a lot of their free time together, but Nate had spent the past couple of weeks locked up in his room. But, he had seen his son a few times, and when he had it had reminded him of… well, nothing.

"Sorry, Casey; I'm drawing a blank here."

God. Was she gonna have to spell it out for him? "You, Derek, he looked like you."

"He always looks like me," he said slowly, wondering if his wife had finally completely lost it.

"Don't act ignorant, Derek," she retorted, annoyed. "He looked like you looked after I told you I wouldn't marry you." It was a sore subject and something she tried to never bring up, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "He _looked_ like a guy who wasn't with the girl he was _in love _with," she said pointedly. "Think about it, Derek," she implored. He needed to understand.

That awful period of his life where he'd been without Casey—when he'd been angry and sullen, completely bereft of the affections of the woman he loved and all because of their stubborn pride and silly ideas of what was or wasn't the right thing to do—ran through his mind. Was that how Nate had looked? No, it couldn't have been… could it? Derek's mind traveled back over the memories of the past dozen days, and after an unbearably long time, for Casey anyway, he nodded.

"I get it," he sounded exhausted, angry, and amazed all at once. "I get it," he repeated, "he's in love with the girl."

Casey sighed in relief, for a minute there she'd thought she was going to have to draw him a picture.

"Now," she inhaled sharply, then sighed again, "what did we promise ourselves when we first found out I was pregnant with Nate?"

Derek closed his eyes and frowned, truly ashamed of himself. Not because he'd forgotten the vow they had made while they'd held hands and watched that first ultrasound, but because he had come so close to breaking it.

"We said, we'd never become our parents, never do to our children what our parents did to us. And we won't, I won't," he promised, moving closer to Casey. "If Nate wants to date this girl I won't stand in his way."

"Good," she said, satisfied. "And, you'll go to dinner tomorrow?"

"Yes," he grunted, sounding considerably less sure about that decision.

"And," she pressed on, "you'll apologize, or, at least try to apologize, to Emily and Sam?"

Typically, Derek Venturi didn't do apologies. But Emily, well, Emily was different. She'd never done anything but take care of him, listen to his problems, and love him. She hadn't deserved any of the many bad things he'd done to her. He knew back then that she hadn't deserved it, he just hadn't cared enough to stop; and now that it was over, he cared enough to know that he needed to apologize to her, especially if he expected her to ever fully accept his son. So, yes, even though it would be awkward and damned uncomfortable, and even though she probably wouldn't even accept it, he would apologize to Emily.

But Sam… was someone he was loathed to apologize to. Maybe it was because he had always resented the fact that Sam had Casey first; which was partly why Derek had said what he had about Emily earlier. Or, maybe it was because he didn't see any of the abilities to forgive that Emily seemed to possess, present in Sam. Or, better yet, it could've been because he knew that yeah, he'd done Emily wrong, but that he'd _really_ done Sam wrong. He and Sam had been friends since they were six and Derek had thrown their entire friendship away. Sam may very well have been a bastard now, but he was a bastard that Derek owed one hell of an apology.

So, actually, loathed as he was to do it, Derek knew that he'd apologize to Sam too. For his wife, for his son, for the simple fact that it was the right thing to do; he would apologize to both of them.

"Derek?" Casey said softly, momentarily scared that she'd pushed to hard.

"Yeah, Princess, I'll do it."

TBC…

A/N: We're almost to then end of the road. This fic will probably only have two more chapters after this one.

Oh, Mike Vanderjack used to be the kicker for the Colts. He cost us a very important game against Pittsburgh a few years ago, and, as you can see, some of us are still a little bitter about it. Vanderjack is infamous for F-ing things up.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Here it is – the second to last chapter. And, actually, the next part will probably be more of an epilogue than a real chapter.

Disclaimer: We've already been through this.

OOOO

None of the Shepherds had been relishing the Sunday dinner, but they all breathed a little easier once they arrived at the diner. The ride there had been plain uncomfortable; there wasn't one of them that wasn't tense and stressing over the meeting that was about to take place.

Lauren was the first to exit the car; even if she was worried, she was still excited about getting to see Nate and not having to hide it.

Contrary to his sister, Tony wasn't excited about anything. In fact, he was psyching himself up, so sure he was that he was going to have to have his sister's and, as much as he hated it, Nate's back during this little sit-down.

Lauren hightailed it into the diner, her brother and parents following closely behind. It wasn't long before she spotted the grim looking Venturi family in the restaurant.

There was an awkward little moment when her family arrived at their table, and then Nate made it even more awkward by standing up to kiss her in greeting. True, he did typically kiss her whenever they saw each other, but something was different this time—Lauren got the distinct feeling that he was sending some sort of 'I don't give a damn' message to both of their families. And while she agreed with him, she thought that it might have not been the best way to open things.

Lauren wasn't alone. Seriously, Casey could've strangled her son. But she chose to forgo that decision and spoke up instead. "Hi everybody."

She got a couple of weak "hellos" back from the twins, but Emily was too caught up in staring at Derek, and Sam was too busy trying not to slam his fist into Derek's face, to give her much of a response.

"Why don't we," Shawn began, gesturing to himself and the other teens, "sit over there," he pointed to a booth across the aisle, "so you guys can have a chance to talk and stuff?"

Casey flashed him a grateful smile and the rest of the teens breathed a sigh of relief before heading over to the table he'd indicated.

There was another odd little pause, but Emily and Sam eventually took a seat across from Derek and Casey.

"Awkward," Casey remarked in a singsong voice after the silence continued to drone on. And, just like that, the tense little spell, well, at least for Casey and Emily, was broken by laughter.

OO

"They're laughing. That's a good sign, right?" Lauren asked nervously.

"Your fathers haven't shanked each other yet," a voice said from behind, "so I'd say it's a very good sign."

Smiling excitedly, Lauren rose to her knees and looked over the back of her seat and into the booth behind them.

"Mya," she exclaimed, "you came!"

"Of course," the girl said before slipping into their booth. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

"Aww, a girl after my own nosy heart," Shawn said before winking at her.

OO

"Well," Casey said, having sobered up, "I think we should start by—

"Emily," Derek interrupted, "let's talk over there." It was really more of a demand than a request, and before she had a chance to respond he had gotten out of his seat and practically pulled her out of hers.

Derek knew that his wife probably had their conversation planned out like a vacation itinerary, but if he was going to apologize he wanted to do it his own way. And he didn't want to do it in front of Sam; he was sure Sam didn't want to hear what he had to say to Emily anyway.

OO

"What are they doing, playing musical chairs?" Shawn joked weakly. Inside he was a ball of nerves; just what was his father doing?

"I'm sure everything's fine," Mya said calmly.

"Yeah, well, that makes one of us," Nate mumbled.

OO

"Emily," Derek murmured, once they were deposited in another booth, "I am so—

"Why'd you pick me, Derek?" Emily blurted out, effectively interrupting him. She hadn't meant to say that—she hadn't meant to say anything actually. She didn't even know she could speak; when he had grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her Emily had been robbed of her powers of

speech. And now not only were those powers back, but they were out of her control and making her sound way sadder than she was comfortable with. But, oddly enough, now that she had asked she really wanted to know the answer.

"Huh?" he asked, eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

Emily really couldn't tell if he was faking or not, so she repeated herself. "Why did you pick me? There were so many girls in our school, and you could've used any one of them to make Casey jealous, so why me? Did you hate me that much?" That thought had run through Emily's mind more than a few times—had he picked her as some sort of payback for the annoying way she had obsessed over him?

"It wasn't about you," Derek admitted. He felt awful 'cause he knew how bad this next part was going to sound, but he knew he had to tell her the truth anyway. "I picked you because I was trying to make Casey jealous and you were her best friend." Emily gasped, but he soldiered on. "I considered going out with someone else, like one of the popular girls who was always teasing her, but I knew that nothing would hurt her more than seeing me with her best friend."

"Bastard," she hissed. It wasn't really a surprise to Emily, but God, having to hear him say it was just too much.

He couldn't blame her for being angry; it had been a bastard thing to do. It shamed him to remember just how callous he'd been with her feelings.

Her eyes were tearing up too, and in attempt to make her feel better he said, "I'm glad I picked you though." Her eyes flashed and he hurried to explain. "You were a good—no, a _great_—girlfriend. You were perfect," he told her, and he meant every word of it. "And after a while, without meaning to, I developed real feelings for you." Encouraged by her surprised expression, he continued. "I really did, in my own ass backwards way, care about you."

None of that was a lie. Just like he'd told Casey a few weeks ago, he had cared about Emily. Besides Casey, Emily had been the only girl he'd ever considered a real friend. She had been one of the few people that he'd ever discussed his hopes and dreams and even his fears with. He had really valued her opinion. And even though he hadn't been in love with her, he would've done almost anything for her.

"Were you ever in love with me?" she asked, somewhat breathlessly. His answer shouldn't have made a difference, and she knew it wouldn't really change anything, but she had to know anyway.

"No," he answered honestly, but hastened to add, "but I did love you."

Emily gave a hollow laugh. _'I love you, but I'm not in love with you.'_ How many times had she heard that during her life? Two more times than anyone should have to hear it from someone they had slept with multiple times. First with Sam, when he revealed the true origins of their relationship, and now with Derek. _This_ was something that didn't get any easier the second time

around.

"You were my friend—one of my _best_ friends—and I loved you as such," Derek said quickly. He didn't want to lose any more of what little ground he had with her to begin with. "And I regret so much what I did to you—how I hurt you. I'd take it all back if I could."

"No you wouldn't," she said flatly.

"What?"

"No. You. Wouldn't," she repeated. "It got you Casey," she said, tone both thoughtful and angry, "and you wouldn't give her up for anything would you?"

He couldn't lie about that. "No. But," was all he got out before she interrupted him.

"And I suppose…"

Her eyes were closed and her breathing was erratic, and Derek couldn't help but wonder if she was going to be ill.

"… I can respect that; your unconditional and unwavering love for Casey was… is… admirable, if nothing else." It really was. They were a couple that had broken up Lord knows how many times, a couple who was cut off from their families, a couple who most of society deemed unnatural and immoral, yet they were still together. And despite all they'd gone through neither of them would trade the other for anything. Emily couldn't help but respect that.

Derek tilted his head at Emily, regarding her oddly. It almost sounded as if…

"I'm not forgiving you," she announced, having opened her eyes and caught his look. "But I'm trying hard to understand what you did and why you guys thought you had to do it."

"Hey," Derek let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, "that sounds good to me." Actually it sounded great to him. Hell, she hadn't stuck a fork in his eye, so he figured he wasn't doing too bad at all.

"You have any idea what you're gonna say to my husband?" she asked, suddenly. It'd be nice if Derek had some sort of plan, because she was sure her husband wasn't about to go as easy on him as she had.

"Nope," he said, and just like that his little moment of contentment was gone. "I have no idea."

OO

Casey hadn't been expecting Derek to disappear from the table with Emily, but she decided to take the opportunity presented to her and just wing it with Sam. Lord knew he deserved an apology from her too.

"Sam—

"How could you do it, Casey?" Sam demanded angrily.

He was angry for a lot of reasons. But he was primarily upset because his wife had just been dragged to a secluded corner by a man who had the tiny little habit of stealing his women. And being left alone with Casey wasn't helping anything either. When he called her to thank her for helping with the Emily situation all those months ago, Sam had been sure that they would never have to talk to each other again. How wrong he had been.

But, since he was stuck with her, he figured the least she could do was give him a real explanation for her actions. So, when she didn't answer, he asked her again, "How could you do that to me, Casey?"

"I was in love with Derek," she answered, wincing, but there really hadn't been a delicate way to put it. "I couldn't live without him."

"Touching, really." He sneered. "And if you had told me that when we were in high school and then broken up with me, yeah, I would've been pissed—maybe even never talked to you guys again—but I would've accepted it. But," his eyes narrowed, "since you strung me along, practically all the way to the altar, I'm gonna need a more substantial answer than that."

Casey grimaced. She should've known; true as it may've been—that answer wasn't going to work.

Taking a deep breath, she attempted to give him something more _substantial_. "At first, I stayed because I couldn't choose between the two of you. You were my first love and I had no idea where the thing with Derek was going," she explained. "Then," she chewed on her lip nervously, knowing that things were only about to get worse, "I knew exactly where things were going with Derek—I wanted him. But I didn't want to hurt you, so, I stayed."

"Oh, _okay_. Thanks for _not_ hurting me," he said sarcastically. _'Does she know how she sounds?' _He assumed she couldn't possibly know or she would've shut up.

Casey was seriously dreading telling him the next part. It really was the Big Bad. "Right before you asked me to marry you I was going to break up with you, but Derek and I got into a fight." She paused, then, "I was trying to prove a point, and I ended up accepting your proposal on a dare… sort of."

"_A point? A dare?_" he bellowed, incredulous.

"But in the end I couldn't go through with it," she rushed on, ignoring his hate filled look as well as she could. "I was in love with Derek; I had to choose him. I mean, even at the rehearsal after you found out about us and begged me to come back to you—

Sam held up a hand. "Stop right there." The last thing he needed was to hear a blow by blow of their rehearsal dinner. And, he didn't really recall begging her either.

Casey silently thanked God for Sam's interruption. She didn't want to talk about all the bad stuff she'd done; she wanted them all to move on.

"I am so sorry about the way I handled things between us," she said sincerely. "And I've been sorry about it everyday of my life. You and Emily were two of the most important people in my life and, even though I know it doesn't seem like it, I never did want to hurt you guys." She'd been being honest, but Sam only snorted.

Leaning across the table as if he were about to share the secrets of the world with her, Sam whispered, "Hey, Casey."

She leaned across the table too. "Yeah?"

"I don't forgive you," he said brutally, and went on to tell her, "and I probably never will."

Keeping her eyes wide so the tears wouldn't fall, Casey continued to listen attentively. She had a feeling he wasn't done.

"What I will do, however, because you are my wife's friend, is smile in your face and be polite. And so I don't lose my daughter," he added, sounding bitter, "I'll open my house to that boy of yours. But, just so you know, if anyone in your family ever hurts my family there will be hell to pay," he finished, before leaning back into his seat.

Casey finally allowed herself to blink, but she didn't shed a tear. Actually, though it wasn't anywhere near what she had hoped for, it was fair enough. And, if Sam was anything like his wife, Casey knew that she'd wear him down… eventually.

OO

"Well, mom and Derek are heading back over to the table, and they both look… relatively okay, so things must've gone fine between them," Lauren guessed, then huffed. "God, I wish I knew what they said; too bad I can't read lips."

"You can't?" Mya and Shawn asked, simultaneously, causing the whole table to stare at them.

"How do you know any good gossip?" Mya said, flabbergasted. She had kinda thought all teenage girls could read lips at least a little bit.

"I can give y'all lessons if you want. I perfected my technique years ago," Shawn said, proudly.

"Dude, you are so weird," Tony told Shawn, but he was smiling as he said it.

OO

When Derek and Emily sat back down at their table, both women turned and looked expectantly at their husbands.

When both men remained silent, focusing solely on their twiddling thumbs, Casey cleared a throat and said, "Derek, don't you have something you would like to say to Sam?"

'_Something I'd like to say or something I have to say?'_ he thought to himself. But said aloud, "Yeah. Sam, I want—

"Wait," Casey interrupted. "Emily and I will leave you two alone for a moment, won't we Emily?" If Derek was going to get the same kind of reception from Sam that she had then she didn't really want to be around to see it.

Emily didn't really want to be around for the apology either, but she thought that leaving her husband alone with Derek would be incredibly stupid. But, then again, what the hell? Her husband was a big boy and he knew what would happen if he messed this up. And he also knew that he _better not_ mess it up.

"Sure," she replied sweetly. "Let's go look at that jukebox over there."

Casey nodded gratefully, and in a matter of seconds she and Emily had disappeared to the other side of the diner.

OO

Tony shook his head at the scene in front of him "What are they thinking, leaving them alone like that?"

Nate hated to come out and agree with Tony, but he couldn't help nodding his head. As someone who had been present for the entire explosive episode yesterday between their fathers, Nathan didn't see how any good could come of leaving those two alone.

"I have no idea," Shawn said, genuinely perplexed. Then he grinned and said, "Twenty bucks says they get in a fight again."

Nate rolled his eyes at his brother. "Only a sucker would take that bet."

"Alright," Shawn nodded, then, "Okay, twenty buck says our dad throws the first punch."

"You're on," Tony said, shaking Shawn's proffered hand. He may have thought this was all a bad idea, but he wasn't above making twenty bucks off of it. He knew his father—there was no way Sam wasn't going to pass the first lick.

OO

Scratching the back of his neck, Derek eyed his companion warily. Awkward didn't even begin to cover how he was feeling—he wanted to talk to Sam about as much as he wanted a hole in the head; but he knew he had to say something.

"Well, I guess I've got that apology you were looking for yesterday," he said, laughing weakly.

Narrowing his eyes, Sam asked, "Do you take anything seriously?"

"No; of course not," Derek replied, rolling his eyes. He had come to this meeting with the best of intentions, but Sam was seriously working his nerves. "I came here just to mess with you," he said, sarcastically. "I mean, really, sitting here while you glare at me and huff and puff is so my idea of fun. I just wish I could spend everyday like this."

It was Sam's turn to roll his eyes. "Way to prove me wrong about you taking this seriously."

Reminding himself that Sam had every right to be angry with him and that he had almost no right to take issue with any insult Sam sent his way, Derek took a deep breath and tried again. "Look, I--"

"No." Sam shook his head. "You look – I don't like you."

'_Surprise, surprise.'_

"And, really, you can save the apology. Nothing you could say could make me forgive you."

Sam didn't just not like Derek—he loathed the man. Sure, he had sat through Casey's spiel, he'd even encouraged it, but there was no way he was going to grant Derek the same courtesy. He'd long ago resigned himself to the fact that, although he couldn't stand her, he would probably always have a soft spot for Casey. Whether it was there because she was his first love or because he had spent so many years harboring feeling for her, he wasn't sure; but he knew it existed.

As far as Derek was concerned, however, no such soft spot existed. Sam hated the man; literally hated him. And even though he'd promised his wife that he would sit through this dinner, and even though he was still prepared to let his daughter date Nathan, Sam knew there was absolutely no way in hell he'd be able to stomach an apology from Derek.

He figured that it'd be better to save them all some time and trouble and tell his one time best friend exactly what was going to happen.

"I'm not here to humor whatever fantastical illusions you and your wife seem to have about us all getting along," Sam told him. "I can tell you right now that will never happen."

Even though he already had a pretty good idea what the answer would be, Derek couldn't stop the smart-ass question from rolling off his tongue. "Well, why exactly are you here?"

"Because I love my daughter more than I hate you," Sam answered simply. Actually, it was a pretty close one—but he knew he had been telling the truth with his answer. "So, I'll support her." Grimacing, he added, "Even when she's doing something stupid. Besides," he began, his first genuine smile of the day springing to his lips, "this thing between our kids can't last forever. And in a couple of months, with the exception of our wives, we can all sever our ties."

That was something that had hit Sam earlier in the morning—Lauren and Nathan were in high school, and add that to the fact that Nate was a player, chances were that their relationship wouldn't last that long. How many high school relationships actually went the distance? A few months, at the most a year; Sam wasn't expecting to have to put up with this any longer than that. The one bright spot in the entire situation was that Lauren and Nate had to part ways at some point. Thank God.

Derek had to bite back a smile. _'Poor Sam.'_ Hell, he almost felt bad for the man. Like he himself had been the night before, Sam was obviously misinformed about just how serious this thing between Nate and his daughter was.

Tilting his head and giving Sam a look he couldn't quite interpret, Derek asked, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, our kids are actually in love?" Trying his best not to laugh at the incredulous expression on Sam's face, Derek couldn't help but try to push his buttons just a little bit more. "I mean, there's a good chance they could be together forever."

Sam gave a short bark of laughter. "Impossible."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Nate's a Venturi." Sam said their last name like it was a fatal disease, and the insulted expression Derek wore after hearing his tone was all the encouragement Sam needed to continue. "And once Lauren realizes that members of the Venturi family don't know how to love, don't even know the meaning of the word, she'll be gone quick, fast, and in a hurry," he said, sounding insanely happy at the mere mentioning of it.

"So, Venturi's don't know how to love huh?" Sam shook his head, and Derek's hand itched to wipe the smirk off his face. Instead of getting physical though, Derek smiled coolly, opting to take a mental swipe at him instead. "That's odd; I know a couple of people who would disagree with you on that. My wife… and yours," he finished smugly, winking at Sam.

Sam wasn't sure whether it was the wink or the implication that Derek knew Emily's feelings better than he did, but whatever it was, it was enough to make what little self-control he had snap.

Unknown to him, Sam had just made his kid twenty bucks.

OO

"Easiest money I ever made." Tony didn't sound too happy about his victory, but that didn't stop

him from pocketing the bill Shawn held out to him.

"If you two are done," Lauren said, scowling, "maybe you could break them up, before somebody really gets hurt."

Besides the scowl, Lauren also had her weepy/pouting thing going on; the combination of the two was too much for her brother and Nate. In short order, Nate was up and grabbing his father while Tony focused on subduing Sam. It took a couple of curse filled minutes but they eventually got their fathers separated.

Not that that did much to put a stop to the flow of drama in the little restaurant. Casey and Emily had made their way back over to their families and they looked anything but pleased.

Hands upon hips and wearing twin looks of annoyance mingled with irritation, each woman turned on her respective husband.

"What the hell, Derek?" Casey asked in exasperation. "This doesn't look like an apology."

"I was _trying_ to apologize," Derek said, defensively. While Nate loosened his hold on his dad, Derek went on to add, "I barely got a chance to say anything before Joe Frazier over there," he glared at Sam, "was jumping all down my throat and throwing sucker punches."

When Emily turned back to focus on Sam her anger and annoyance were clear. "Oh, really?" she asked, tight lipped.

"No," he scowled, "not really. As usual, he's lying." Sam sniffed. '_Like I'd ever throw a sucker punch.'_

"Am not," Derek said sounding indignant.

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too," Sam insisted.

"Am--" Derek started to repeat himself again, only to be interrupted by a very loud, very shrill whistle blowing.

When everyone turned to find the source of the noise, nobody was that surprised to see Shawn lounging in his seat with a whistle lodged between his grinning lips.

"You brought a whistle?" Mya asked, smiling. "Aren't you just the cutest thing?" she said, before reaching across the table and pinching his cheek.

Shawn bowed his head in an overly bashful way. "Well, yeah."

Mya rolled her eyes at his answer, but she was giggling nonetheless.

"Who are you?" Sam asked, momentarily sidetracked by the weird Venturi kid and the… waitress from the day before?

"Mya Madsen," she responded perkily. "I'm Casey and Emily's friend."

Sam just stared at her blankly, shaking his head back and forth in disbelief. Here he was at a Shepherd/Venturi family reunion; his daughter was dating the son of his only enemies; and now, apparently, his wife was hanging out with high school kids. _'Could things get any weirder?' _

"Really?" Derek asked. He wore a look very similar to Sam's. He hadn't been aware that his wife had any friends, well, besides Emily. So, finding out that she had one who looked to be about their son's age was just a bit shocking.

"Yes, really," Casey replied, sounding annoyed. She had exactly two real friends in the world and it seemed like Derek was going out of his way to drive both of them away. After today, if Mya decided that her family was just too nuts to associate with Casey wouldn't have blamed her one bit.

She really hoped that didn't happen though. On their way to Casey's house, Tony had informed Emily about Mya's part in their whole 'reunite the parents' strategy and Emily had told Casey about it while they had driven to the diner the day before. Casey had already liked Mya, but now the girl would always have a special place in her heart.

"Oh," Derek said, simply.

"Okay," Casey said, sighing irritably, "now that you're apparently done stalling"—which is what she was starting to think the fight and the preschool-type argument he had just engaged Sam in and the mini-inquisition of Mya had been— "are you ready to apologize?"

"That depends," he looked pointedly at Sam, "is he ready to listen?"

"He sure is," Emily answered, voice syrupy sweet. "Aren't you honey?"

Her tone held more threat than question, and Sam nodded reluctantly. He just kept telling himself not to forget what all was at stake here.

Sighing in relief, Emily gave her husband a little nudge in the direction of his seat. Taking the hint, Sam sat back down and after a second he was joined by an equally reluctant looking Derek.

Everybody breathed a little easier after the two of them slid into their booth. And, after they were sure that a fight wasn't going to break out, at least immediately, the members of the two families who were standing took their seats too. Though, this time Casey and Emily made sure to stay close… just in case.

"Go ahead," Sam said sounding incredibly tired and defeated all of a sudden. "Go ahead and apologize for taking Casey from me so I can go ahead and not forgive you."

Derek grimaced. He couldn't exactly apologize for that, which Emily had made more than clear when they had spoken earlier.

"I can't do that."

Sam rolled his eyes and said, "you do know that Casey's not gonna let you eat anything until you apologize right?"

Derek blinked. For a split second Sam had sounded like Sam, and not the bitter, angry man who was sitting across from him now. It was nice and… awful. Up until that moment Derek hadn't realized how much he had missed his friend.

Shaking his head, Derek decided to push that thought aside and return his focus to the task at hand. "We were friends from grade to University," he said, trying another tactic. Derek had met Sam and Emily during his second tour of the first grade. "And during that time was I ever anything but loyal to you?" Sam cocked a disbelieving eyebrow, so Derek added, "besides the obvious." He didn't get any reaction from Sam, but he wasn't really expecting an answer for that anyway. "I'm just saying, you were always pretty popular – always had a girlfriend. Did I ever steal any of them from you, besides Casey?"

Rolling his eyes once again, Sam started clapping. "Congratulations on the stellar accomplishment of only stealing one of my girlfriends," he said mockingly. "God," he swore, "it always boggles my mind when people want credit for something they're just supposed to do. There's nothing special about you not kissing the girl I gave my extra juice to in the third grade."

"I'm not saying there is." Well, he kind of was, but that hadn't been his intent. Derek was just trying to make a point. "Think about it though, I was never one to pass up a pretty and willing girl, but I always turned yours down. So, doesn't it make sense that if I took Casey from you it was because I really was in love with her?" Sam just stared at him like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, so he said, "I wasn't trying to hurt you; it wasn't personal."

'_Derek's crazier than Casey.'_ "It wasn't personal?" he repeated, incredulous. "You dated my girlfriend behind my back for years and then the two of you decided to turn my wedding rehearsal into your own little coming out party, but it wasn't personal?"

He grunted, and then said, "You know that's not what I meant."

"That's what you said," Sam said pointedly. "How am I supposed to know what you mean if you won't say what you mean?"

Reminding himself that he had about zero room to be annoyed, Derek attempted to explain himself. "All I meant is that I didn't go with Casey just to stick it to you. I wanted Casey, needed

her, but I didn't want to hurt you—neither of us did," he insisted. "And for that—for hurting you so badly—I really am sorry," he said, sounding incredibly sincere. "But I can't apologize for ending up with Casey. I love her, man, and I'll never be sorry for marrying her."

Sam frowned. He didn't exactly want Derek to apologize for marrying Casey. Sam was aware of the fact that if he had married Casey then he wouldn't have Emily or the twins. His family was his life and he couldn't imagine living without them. So, no, that's not what he wanted. Sam just wanted… Well, he didn't exactly know what he wanted.

He had hated them for so long—hated them for making his life miserable, for never even attempting to make things right. And now that they seemed to want to make things better, Sam couldn't deal. He hated them _too_ much—it had been _too_ long. Whatever Emily had that made her forgive him for the way he had treated her, whatever she had that made her forgive Casey – Sam knew he didn't have it. He really just did not like Derek and Casey and he knew he never would; he knew he would never be able to forgive them.

But, he _could_ honor the promise he had made to his wife. With all the crap Emily had put up with from him, would it really kill him to cut the Venturi clan just a little slack? Maybe. But he would suck it up and try to do it anyway.

"You marrying Casey got me Emily, and I'll never need or want an apology for the best thing that ever happened to me," Sam said quietly.

Derek almost fell out of his seat. That was about the last thing he had been expecting to hear, but he tried his best to keep a straight face.

"As for the other thing," Sam continued, voice much stronger, "I'll never be able to forgive you for the way the two of you handled things. Like you said, we were best friends; if you had just been up front with me we might've been able to get past it." Sam wasn't sure if that was true, but he liked to think it was. "But y'all did too much—lied too much; I can't forgive that."

Derek waited a second, then said, "But?" He couldn't help but feel like there was a "but" on Sam's statement.

Apparently he was right.

"But," Sam said, "Like I said earlier, I love my wife and kids; just like you obviously do." Why else would Derek have been there? "So, whatever we have to do to make sure our families are happy," he sighed, "let's do it."

"Really?" Derek asked, shocked. For the first time in his life he thought he might actually faint.

"Really," Sam assured him. "Even if it means Emily and Casey sending us on 'grown man play dates' I want to do it." _'Well, "want" is a strong word.'_

Derek released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "Okay," he agreed, sticking out a hand for Sam to shake.

Sam didn't hesitate to grasp it.

TBC…

A/N: One more part to go. Please let me know how this went. I think this was the most important chapter so far and I'd really like to know how it came off. Oh, Mya is college aged; Sam's and Derek's guesses were just off.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: **Well, here is the epilogue. I hope you guys like it.

About the ages of the kids… I never specified because I wasn't sure what ages I wanted them to be. But, since y'all asked, I came up with some. Mya is 21; Nathan is 18 (senior); the twins and Shawn are 17 (juniors). I know Nathan and Shawn are back to back, but I see a lot of people having stair-step kids these days so I don't think it's that farfetched.

Shout-out to Amanda! Thanks for always coming back.

**Disclaimer: **Mike Seater is bad and he knows. I think that he knows… I also think that you all know that I don't own LWD.

OOOOOOOO

**Three Years Later**

"So," Nate said as he looked at Lauren, who was currently fanning herself with her bouquet, "are you ready to spend the rest of your life as my wife or what?"

"Isn't that something you should've asked me before we said 'I do'?" she asked, sending a wry smile in his direction. 

They were standing in the hallway outside of the very same ballroom where their parents had their first of many showdowns with each other, waiting to be announced so that they could make their official entrance as husband and wife. And Nathan was trying his best to distract his obviously nervous wife.

"Maybe," he replied. "But I didn't want to give you the chance to say no."

She rolled her eyes. "I accepted your proposal, Nathan; I think that should've been a significant answer as to whether or not I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you."

Shrugging, he said, "Hey, for all I know you could've changed your mind. Women are notorious for being fickle creatures," he said, smirking.

"Fickle?" she echoed. "This from the man who tried to take back his request for his brother to be his best man just because he talked through the last game of the Final Four."

"Do you know how much money I had riding on that game?" He didn't even wait for a response. "A lot," he said, answering his own question. "And then Shawn has the nerve to try and talk through the, _very important_, last few minutes; and not because he actually had anything to say either. He was just trying to be annoying."

"Kinda like you are now?"

"I'm not annoying," he said, pretending to be insulted. "I'm distracting; there's a difference."

"Okay," she said slowly. "And just what are you supposed to be distracting me from?"

"Your nervousness."

"I am not nervous," she insisted.

"Okay." He gave her a disbelieving look. "Your pacing is about to where a hole in the carpet; even though the air conditioner in here is on full blast you're sweating up a storm; and you keep chewing on your lip in that girly-nervous way you always do. But you're not nervous? _Right_," he said sarcastically.

"I'm not nervous," she said again, but when he started to stare her down she relented. "Okay, so I'm nervous," she admitted, walking over to him. "I'm just ready to be in there already. Our families and friends should not be left unsupervised. Do you know how many existing feuds are in that room?" she asked, pointing to the door. "Or how many more could develop if those people are left to their own devices for too long?" Lauren couldn't help worrying; the people she knew were addicted to drama.

Sure, he knew. But, unlike his wife, Nathan wasn't worried.

"Everything will be fine," Nathan assured her as he grabbed her hand. "Give the people we know a little credit—they can all act right for one night. I'm sure everyone is getting along fine."

OOOO

"What's so funny, Dennis?" Abby asked him as she joined him at the bar. He'd been chuckling to himself pretty hardily, but nobody was around, not even the bartender.

"Nothing," he said, still grinning. He had to admit, he was a little surprised she even remembered his name considering they had seen each other all of four times. "I just never would've seen this coming."

"What?" She frowned. "The wedding?"

'_Well, that too,'_ he thought to himself. "No," he said aloud, shaking his head. "The day you and I were the 'good' parents," he told her, laughing again.

"Yeah," she laughed lightly, "are you sure hell hasn't frozen over?"

His laughter deepened. He couldn't help it—that was the closest thing to a joke he had ever heard her say.

OOO

"So they're really friends again huh?" Steve asked his wife Sharon. She'd been filling him in about her cousin/best-friend's soap opera-like past over the past few days; sometimes it was hard for him to believe that she wasn't making it up.

Sharon glanced at Emily and Casey and then back to her husband. "Yeah." She shook her head. "It boggles my mind too."

Nodding, he asked, "So is your cousin trying for sainthood or what?"

"You've met her husband," she paused, and then asked smartly, "what do you think?"

Sharon didn't know who she trusted less—Sam or Casey and Derek. But, whatever. If this is what made Emily and Lauren happy, then she would support it; even if she didn't understand it. 

OOO

Julius Davis took a look around the opulent ballroom and didn't know whether to grimace or smile. Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, he asked his wife, "Just how much did this whole thing cost?"

Marilyn started to reprimand her husband for his tackiness, but he was frowning too hard. Taking pity on him, she whispered the final tally in his ear.

"Jesus," he swore, then, "Wait a minute, if they have that kind of money why do I get a tie every year for Father's Day?"

"You like ties," she reminded him.

He snorted. "Yeah, but I like cruises too."

OOO

"I still can't believe she let you have your way about what centerpieces to pick," Casey exclaimed while she "fixed" an already perfectly centered centerpiece. 

Like everyone else, she and Emily were standing around waiting on the couple to make their grand entrance. They were passing the time by fixing a bunch of imaginary problems.

"Please," Emily scoffed. "With what her daddy and I are paying for this thing she should've let me pick the colors, flowers, and the reception venue too." Emily didn't really mind the price—it wasn't like she could take the money with her to the grave—she just kind of liked to complain about it. "Do you know how many cruises I could've taken with what I spent on this?"

Casey had helped plan the wedding, so she could imagine. Never before had she been so glad to have only had boys. 

OOO

"Humph," Courtney grunted, pouting, as she moved to stand beside Tricia.

"What is your problem?" Tricia asked, annoyed. "You've been pouting all day."

"How come you got to be the maid of honor?" she asked, frowning. "We've all known each other the exact same amount of time." Folding her arms across her chest, she said, "It's not fair."

Tricia rolled her eyes. "Ren flipped a coin; it couldn't have been _fairer_ than that. Besides, you should be thanking Lauren right now."

"For what?"

"For putting her foot down about the bridesmaids' dresses."

Courtney shuddered, before saying, in an extremely serious voice, "You're absolutely right. Seriously, somebody should call the fashion police on Mrs. Shepherd."

Nodding in agreement, Tricia said, "For the color alone of the dresses she wanted, they should lock her up and throw away the key."

OOO

"I just realized something," Mikey said to the other groomsman, James. They were killing time, standing against a wall, looking for some girls they could have some _Wedding Crashers_-type fun with. 

"What?"

"If things had gone a little different at the pizza place that day, this could've been your wedding."

"That never would have happened," James mumbled. He felt he was just a little too young to be getting married. In fact, he really couldn't believe that Nathan was already taking the plunge. 

"You're right," Mikey said, then laughed. "Like you could ever take a girl from Nate."

OOO

"I still can't believe that we didn't kick Nathan's ass when we had the chance," Bam complained. 

"Dude, that was like forever ago. Aren't you ever gonna let it go?" Johnny asked, but he already knew the answer. No. Johnny knew that, much like himself, Bam didn't think Nathan was good enough for Stimpy. Though, to be fair, they probably wouldn't think anybody was good enough for their "sis".

"Nope," he answered. "Somebody's gotta keep up the vendetta now that Tony has turned traitor."

"I can hear you, you know," Tony called from his spot a few feet away where he was talking to Shawn.

"I know," Bam called back, grinning, "That's why I said it."

OOO

"Like I was saying," Tony said, after returning his attention to Shawn, "I've never been as glad to see a semester come to an end as I am now."

"I thought your classes were going okay," Shawn commented, before taking a sip of his beer. 

"It's not the classes; it's the roommate. What a jackass," he said, shaking his head as if amazed at how annoying his roommate was. 

"Hey, man, it's your own fault," Shawn told him, grinning. "If you had gone to University with me like I suggested you wouldn't have this problem."

"Please," he snorted, "like having to listen to you burst into random show tunes and even more random monologues would've been any better."

"Deny it all you like but you know you love me."

Tony started to retort, but he decided to have a little fun instead. "Just like you love Mya?"

"Says who?" Shawn said, trying to appear unaffected. 

"Says your eyes—you keep staring at her."

Was he? He hadn't even noticed. Well, okay, he'd noticed, but he didn't think Tony had. 

"No, I don't." Even if he was caught, he sure wasn't about to admit to anything.

"Deny it all you like," Tony mocked, grinning, "but you know you love her."

OOO

"That Venturi kid is staring at you again."

Mya followed her cousin's glance to where Shawn was standing. He blushed at being caught, but she just winked at him and grinned impishly.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," Tommy grumbled. "There's no sense in encouraging him when nothing can come of it."

"Who says nothing can come of it?"

He eyeballed her, incredulous. "You're like four years his senior, for goodness sake."

"Age ain't nothing but a number," she said, mainly to mess with him. "I could get past it if he can. Besides, he's cute." She paused a moment, pretending to think, before saying, "Actually, now that I think about it, we would make a great couple. I mean, we already know I'd get along with his family, and—

"Mya," her cousin interrupted, aghast at what she was saying.

She couldn't hold it in anymore—she started laughing. "Relax, Tommy. I was only joking," she told him. But as she caught Shawn smiling at her, she couldn't help but silently add, _'Well, sort of anyway.'_

OOO

"You know," Dimi began as he sidled up to Marti, "you could've knocked me over with a feather when I saw you slip into the back of the church."

"Of course I came," she said, sounding affronted. "Nathan is my nephew, after all."

He cocked an eyebrow at her and asked, "So, that's the only reason you came?" 

Who did she think she was kidding? He knew, courtesy of Emily, that Marti, like the other McDonald/Venturi siblings, was not close with Casey and Derek. Really, Dimi doubted that anybody would've been surprised if none of them had come to the wedding. Lizzie and Edwin had seen Nathan like four times, and judging from the way Marti felt about Casey, she had probably seen the kid even less. 

She had to resist the urge to make a face at him. What, did he think that she'd come just so she could pout and glare at Casey and remind her, in person, just how much she couldn't stand her? 

Well, actually, that was the main reason Marti had come. But nobody needed to know that.

Smiling up at him, she answered, "Of course."

OOO

"Care to make a wager?" Edwin asked Lizzie when he returned with her drink.

"What kind of wager?" she responded, before taking a sip.

"The kind where you bet on how long a marriage will last."

"Edwin," she began, wearing a frown. "I am not going to bet on my nephew's marriage."

"Even if I'm willing to put up five-hundred dollars that says they'll be together forever."

Lizzie snorted. She was giving their union ten years, tops. If they didn't somehow ruin things themselves, then Derek and Casey surely would—they seemed to have a knack for breaking people up.

"You might as well just flush your money down the toilet."

OOO

"Hey," Derek greeted Sam, after moving to stand next to him.

"Hey," Sam replied flatly.

"So," Derek began nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "I just wanted to tell you how glad I am that Nathan was lucky enough to marry Lauren."

Sam raised his gaze away from his wine glass and up to Derek's face, but he didn't respond.

"She's a great girl," he continued, despite the 'please go away' look Sam was giving him. And he meant what he was saying. Lauren was a great girl. And even though he had initially thought that her relationship with his son was a bad idea, he was really glad the two of them had gotten married. Derek had never seen Nate look happier than he had when the priest pronounced them "husband and wife". "Nate couldn't have done any better in choosing a bride."

"Thanks," Sam said gruffly. Derek looked like he was waiting for him to respond in kind or, at least, elaborate on his thank-you, so he added, "Ren could've done worse… I guess." 

Sam wanted to smack himself as soon as he said it. Not only would Emily have been disappointed in him for being so petty, but he was disappointed in himself too. It wouldn't have killed him to say something nice back, especially since he did like Nate.

Shaking his head, Derek started to walk away, but Sam grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"That wasn't very nice of me. Sorry." When Derek simply stared at him, he huffed, knowing he was going to have to say more to make things right. "Actually," he sighed, "as much as it pains me to admit it, I like your boy." Derek looked stunned, so Sam figured he might as well push him over into fainting territory. "Now, I'm only going to say this next part once so you better listen well: my daughter may have been able to do worse, but she couldn't have done any better."

It was the truth. Nate and Lauren were good for each other; anyone could see that, even Sam.

If he was like Casey, Derek wouldn't have hesitated to hug Sam. But he knew that was probably the last thing the poor guy wanted—he'd looked positively ill during his little speech. He knew it was just an expression, but Derek didn't doubt for a second that it had indeed pained Sam to admit all that to him.

So, he took pity on him, and settled for a handshake.

"Aww," Casey gushed, having arrived in time to see her husband and Sam release each other. "Did you guys just have a moment?"

"No," both men said.

"Really?" Emily asked, smiling at Sam. "'Cause it sure looked like you were having a moment."

They were saved from answering, oddly enough, by the disc jockey.

"If I could have everyone's attention," the room got completely silent, "I'd like to present Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Venturi."

The room burst into applause as Nathan and Lauren made their entrance. And as they took their spots in the center of the dance floor they were all smiles.

"Look at our babies," Casey said, somewhat breathlessly, "they look so happy."

And they were. At that moment, they _all_ were. 

_THE END!_

**A/N: **If you're reading this then you made it to the end and, for that, I thank you. OTB may have been my baby, but this was my… other baby (lol) Knowing that people were reading it (and enjoying it) always meant so much. 

So, thank you, thank you, thank you all for reading.


End file.
